Divine Liturgy was served on the occasion of Holy Cross in Akhalkalaki Holy Cross Church


The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is also the day of the covenant of the churches bearing the name of the Holy Cross. On that occasion, with the blessings of the Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Georgia, His Grace Bishop Kirakos Davtyan, the miraculous relic of St. Thomas the Apostle was moved from St. Gevorg Church in Tbilisi to St. Khach Church in Akhalkalaki. On that day, believers had the opportunity to communicate with the holy relic.
 

Camp Ararat has been operating in the Armenian Diocese of Canada for the 20th time


For 20 years now, every August, Canadian Armenian children, teenagers and young adults have the opportunity to spend a week together in an educational environment. Christian faith and Armenian identity are emphasized in Ararat camp's youth program. Canadian Armenian children and youth learn to serve their church and community.
 

Group leader and pedagogue Grigor Harutyunyan developed and published the poems of the major feasts


Presentation of "Creative Children", "Reharmonization of Orchestral Score", "Taghq Taghavarats" educational manual and collections was held in the church of the of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese. The manual and collections were prepared for publication by group leader, pedagogue Grigor Harutyunyan. The author has chosen 12 poems for Major feasts, the authors of which are Saint Grigor Narekatsi, Nerses the Graceful, Ananun Anetsi, Kostandin of Sis, Arakel Syunetsi, Mkhitar Sebastasi.

 

The Catholicos of All Armenians received pilgrims of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Churchof North America


Pilgrimages to the Motherland have been taking place for several years now under the leadership of Reverend Fr. Abraham Malkhasyan, Spiritual Pastor of the Church of the Holy Martyrs in New York. During the meeting, the Armenian Patriarch stressed the importance of the connection of Armenians from all over the world with the Motherland and the Motherland important. His Holiness commanded the pilgrims to return to their communities strengthened by faith and to continue their patriotic activities, to be zealously involved in the national-church life.

 

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God


On the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, a festive divine liturgy was offered in the Armenian Apostolic Churches. The Catholicos of All Armenians and the Brotherhood of the Mother See participated in the Liturgy at the Saint Gayane Monastery. At the end of the ceremony, blessed grapes were distributed to the people. The Armenian Patriarch prayed and blessed the gathered people. The next day, liturgies dedicated to the rememberance of the dead were held in the churches. A requiem service was performed, a prayer was said for the peace of the souls of the deceased.
 

On the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption, a festive Liturgy was served in the St. Gregory the Illuminator Church of Yerevan


Reverend Fr. Poghos Vardanyan was the Celebrant at the Saint Gregory the Illuminator mother church in Yerevan. Feast of Assumption of the Holy Mother of God is the fourth major holidays celebrated by the Armenian Apostolic Church. The blessing of grapes is one of the most popular one of the feasts. On the Feast of the Assumption, grapes ripen, the altars are decorated with vines full of grapes. After the liturgy, the grapes are blessed and distributed to the believers. The day after the feast, August 15, is the day of Rememberance of the dead. Requiem Services Funeral are held in churches.

 

AGBU "Discover Armenia" program participants met the Catholicos of All Armenians


AGBU "Discover Armenia" project participants visited the Mother See as volunteers to help the church. They cleaned the open altar, tidied up the old cemetery, and washed some of the temple's ritual carpets. With the program, young people aged 15-18 came from different settlements of the world, who live together for three weeks, travel around Armenia, discover the country, culture, history and people.

The prayers of Gregory of Narek's famous book have been translated into Portuguese


With the efforts of the Armenian Diocese of Brazil, the translation was published in a separate booklet. The presentation of the book took place on July 31, after the Sunday liturgy, in the St. George Church of San Paolo. Diocesan Primate His Grace Bishop Narek Berberyan blessed the new translation of the famous prayer book of Narekatsi with a holy cross.

 

The Mother See organized a three-month training course for the women of Artsakh


With the blessings of the Patriarch of All Armenians and the patronage of the Armenian Diocese of France, the Social Service Office of the Mother See and the Diocese of Gugark are starting a three-month professional training program. The participants are women from Artsakh. With this program, participants are provided with opportunities for integration in the new settlement in order to prevent unemployment, emigration and solve social problems. The Mother See is simultaneously implementing several programs for those forcibly displaced from Artsakh. At the call of the Catholicos of all Armenians, the dioceses of the church and Armenians around the world responded and supported those programs.

 

At the invitation of the Mother See, the Romanian Orthodox Church will support the forcibly displaced families from Artsakh


The delegation of the Romanian Orthodox Church, at the invitation of the Armenian Apostolic Church, came to Armenia to study the needs of forcibly displaced families from Artsakh and to support them in the future with the Mother See. They are collecting financial support in all parishes to help those forcibly displaced from Artsakh. With the help of the Social Affairs Office of the Mother See, the clergy, accompanied by Bishop Tatev Hakobyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Romania, visited the people of Artsakh and found out their basic needs.

Harutyun Alamdaryan: the founder of the new renaissance


Harutyun Alamdaryan was one of the first figures of the New Enlightenment and the new revival for Armenians. He became a connecting link between the disappearing Armenian Middle Ages and the new era. He lived a painfully short life, but managed to do a lot. He earned the admiration and respect of his contemporaries, created textbooks and author's works, developed the Armenian school and education.

Saturday schools of the Armenian church in North America are state licensed


For the first time in the history of the diaspora, the "Little Angels" Saturday School of the Western Diocese of the USA received a state license from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). After about a year of studies, the decision was made by the special session of the summer committee of the organization. The Little Angels Mother School includes educational facilities operating in various churches of the diocese, from Pasadena to San Francisco and Arizona. About 1,500 students study in these Saturday institutions.