Feast of St. Thaddeus the Apostle and St. Sandukht the Virgin


On July 18, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church will celebrate the memory of St. Thaddeus the Apostle and St. Sandukht the Virgin.
At 10:30, at the St. Thaddeus Chapel of the Candlelight Prayer Hall of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, with the blessing of the Catholicos of All Armenians, a Holy and Immortal Liturgy will be celebrated.
The Apostle Thaddeus brought the Holy Lance of Geghard to Armenia, and through his preaching, the Virgin Sandukht, the daughter of King Sanatruk, converted to Christianity and was martyred.

Transfiguration (Vardavar)


On July 12, the Armenian Apostolic Church will celebrate one of the five main feasts, the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ (Vardavar), which commemorates the gospel story of the Savior’s transfiguration on Mount Tabor and his appearance to the disciples in divine glory.
The feast is very popular and rich in traditions: the festive atmosphere of the day is provided by the beloved custom of sprinkling water on each other.

Archbishop Mikayel Meets with Catholicos of All Armenians After Appeals Court Decision


According to the Appeals Court decision, Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan has been released from house arrest, but does not have the right to leave the country. The Archbishop returned to Gyumri at night, unaccompanied by police. The Primate was warmly welcomed in his hometown with applause, fireworks, and songs. Before returning to Gyumri, Archbishop Mikayel participated in the trial of Archbishop Bagrat, then visited the Mother See and met with the Catholicos of All Armenians.

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the feast of the Holy Translators


The pilgrims visited the Holy Mashtots Church in Oshakan, participated in the liturgy, and prayed for the intercession of the Holy Patriarch Sahak and the Holy Mashtots Vardapet for the Armenian nation and people. Armenia is one of the unique countries that honors translators with a separate feast. These feasts summarize the secrets of national identity, preservation of writing, language, and enlightenment.
 

Bishop Narek Berberian, Primate of the Diocese of Brazil, has initiated a “Ritual Training Program”


The church’s scholastic class combines education with recreation and camp activities. Deacon Gevorg Geogjian supported the implementation of the program by providing a private house where the Bishop conducted the training course. Having served in the United States for more than 20 years, Bishop Narek Berberian has paid great attention to training young altar servers and involving them in church life.

 

The Armenian Apostolic Church will celebrate Pentecost on May 24


The Holy Spirit enlightens the disciples with tongues of fire, making them interpreters of God's word among the nations. They begin to speak in the languages ​​of the peoples to whom they were to preach Christianity.
 

On May 29, the presentation of books published by the Mother See Publishing House will take place


The presentation of the book “The Armenian Genocide: The Greatest Crime Committed During the First World War According to Unpublished Documents from the Vatican Secret Archives” by German historian and genocide scholar Michael Hezemann will take place at the “Vache and Tamar Manukyan” Matenadaran. There will also be presentations of “Armenian Migration During the First World War and the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (1914-1917)” by Avetis Harutyunyan, “Azerbaijan’s Policy of Destruction and Misappropriation of the Cultural Heritage of Artsakh (2020-2025)” by Armine Tigranyan, “The Role of Holy Etchmiadzin in the Armenian Liberation Struggle of the 16th-17th Centuries” by Priest Ararat Poghosyan, “ARTSAKH. "Monasteries, Churches and Manuscripts" book presentations.
 

This year, Araratian Week will begin on June 1


The commemoration of the Virgins of St. Hripsimian will be followed by the commemoration of the Virgins of Gayanian, St. Hovhannes Karapet and Bishop Atanagin, and the commemoration of the departure of Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of the Armenian Catholicosate, from Khor Virap. The week will end on June 7 with the celebration of the Catholicosate of Holy Etchmiadzin.

 

Araratian Week launched with the feast of the Virgins of St. Hripsimie


This week, the Armenian Apostolic Church will celebrate the feasts of the Virgins of Gayany, St. Hovhannes Karapet and Bishop Atanagin, and the commemoration of the departure of Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of the Armenian Catholicosate, from Khor Virap. The week will end on June 7 with the celebration of the Feast of the Holy Erchmiadzin.
 

A festive liturgy will be served at the Holy Cross Church in Aparan on the Feast of Apparition of the Holy Cross


On the Feast of Apparition of the Holy Cross, the relic of Christ’s Cross will be transferred from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to the Holy Cross Church in Aparan. For many years, it was kept in the Holy Cross Monastery in Akhtamar, and after 1915 it was transferred to the Mother See. The Feast of the Holy Cross commemorates the miraculous appearance of a cross-shaped light in the sky of Jerusalem in May 351, from Golgotha ​​to the Mount of Olives. It is one of the four feasts glorifying the cross of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The festive liturgy begins at 10 a.m.

 

In Great Britain, Bishop Hovakim Manukyan presented the crimes of 1915


A solemn commemoration of the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide took place at the “Eternal Flame” khachkar, which perpetuates the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, in the Armenian-populated Ealing district of London. Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, the leader of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Great Britain and Ireland, presented the crimes that took place in 1915. He considered it necessary to condemn the genocide.
 

The Catholicos of All Armenians, accompanied by the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, will visit Tsitsernakaberd


A liturgy of intercession for the holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide will be performed at the Memorial Complex. On this occasion, the relics of the holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide will be brought to the Memorial Complex. On the day of commemoration of the holy martyrs, April 24, at 11:00 a.m., a Holy and Immortal Liturgy will be served in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, at the end of which a liturgy of intercession for the holy martyrs will be performed in front of the khachkar of Prayer and Vows.