The Sunday of the Eve of the Great Lent was followed by the Sunday of Expulsion: on March 1, under the presidency of Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, the Divine Liturgy celebrated in St. Gayane Monastery was attended by Archbishop Sahak Mashalian, the newly elected Patriarch of Constantinople. On the occasion of the re-publication of the first Western Armenian complete translation of the Book of Lamentations an event entitled “Your First-Born Anew” was held on March 2 in Vatche and Tamar Manookian Library of the Mother See. The relic of Saint Anna was brought to Armenia, which from now on will be under the custody of St. Anna Church of Yerevan. The Catholicos hosted the nuns at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Christina Maranji, the professor of Armenian Studies at Tufts University, delivered a lecture titled "Ani Cathedral Frescoes" at Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts. Throught the cooperation of the Embassy of Japan in Armenia and the Museum Department of the Mother, a Japanese tea-drinking ceremony was organized in Ruben Sevak Museum.
