BAREKENDAN OF THE FAST OF CATECHUMENS ԲԱՐԵԿԵՆԴԱՆ ԱՌԱՋԱՎՈՐԱՑ ՊԱՀՈՑ

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1 ê. ñç áñ Èáõë³õáñÇã гÛó. ²é³ù»É³Ï³Ý ºÏ»Õ»óÇ ²ñÅÝ. î. Ø»ëñáå øñýû. Úáíë»³Ý St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church Rev. Fr. Mesrob Hovsepyan, pastor 1131 North Street, White Plains, NY / Office: (914) Pastor: (804) Der Mesrob - fr.mesrob@yahoo.com, Office - saintgregorychurchwp@gmail.com Web: Office Hours: Monday closed, Tuesday-Friday 9:30-3:00 pm Յունուարի 21, 2018 January 21, 2018 Welcome to St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church! Legacy of Our Martyrs: A Gift to Carry Forward The Morning Service starts at 9:45 a.m. on s and is followed by Soorp Badarak (Divine Liturgy) at 10:15 a.m. Parish Council Members on Duty: Ann Daw, Gayane Manukyan, George Omartian Today s Scripture Readings: 2 Timothy 2: John 6:15-21 BAREKENDAN OF THE FAST OF CATECHUMENS ԲԱՐԵԿԵՆԴԱՆ ԱՌԱՋԱՎՈՐԱՑ ՊԱՀՈՑ Today there will be no Requiem Service after Badarak.

2 BAREKENDAN OF THE FAST OF CATECHUMENS The Fast of Catechumens is peculiar only to the Armenian Church. It begins three weeks before the Great Lent. In ancient times people could eat only bread and salt during the fast of Catechumens. On those days it was not allowed to celebrate Divine Liturgy either. The meaning of the Fast of Catechumens is the purification of the five human senses from pagan impurity. In the ancient Church there was a custom to fast during five days before baptism. St. Gregory the Illuminator ordered King Tiridates and others to fast for five days before baptism in order to get freed of the evil. That is the reason also for fasting of Catechumens to be called fast of salvation from the evil. According to the tradition, the fasting of Catechumens was initiated by St. Gregory the illuminator in memory of the above-mentioned practice. There are two explanations regarding the name of this feast. It is called the fast of Catechumens: as the precursor of the Great Lent, and As the first Armenian fast. On the fifth day of the fasting of Catechumens, on Friday, the remembrance day of the Prophet Jonah is celebrated, but it is celebrated not as the feast of Prophet Jonah, but as the memory of an example of great repentance and abstinence which Jonah urged. At times, wrongly, the fasting of Catechumens was called the fast of St. Sarkis, because the Armenian Church celebrates the feast of St. Sarkis on Saturday following the fast. In Middle Ages the Byzantine and the Georgian Churches blamed the Armenian Church for the fasting of Catechumens, relating it to St. Sarkis, to whom they ascribed sorcery.according to the testimonies of Armenian medieval writers. Greek and Latin Churches also had the fasting of Catechumens in ancient times. ԲԱՐԵԿԵՆԴԱՆ ԱՌԱՋԱՎՈՐԱՑ ՊԱՀՈՑ : 3 : :,,. : 5 : 5 :. 5, : :,., :..,. :.,. :

3 TODAY S SCRIPTURE READINGS The reading is from the second Epistle of St. Paul to the Timothy (1:1-11) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: The Lord knows those who are his, and, Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. The second reading is from the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John (6:15-21) Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, It is I; don t be afraid. Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

4 Honor your loved ones by donating an engraved leaf on the St. Gregory TREE OF LOVE Children, Grandchildren, Parents, Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles Each brass leaf will be custom engraved to honor your loved one(s). No limit on how many you can purchase! This is a wonderful way to honor a special occasion, milestone event, marriage, new baby, in tribute to, in memory of, etc. Each leaf is 2 x 3 and can be engraved with 20 characters on each of four lines. The cost per leaf is $500. (payable to: St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church) For each leaf sold the Parish Council will donate $10 to the ACYOA Juniors. Basketball Practice Girls Ages Saturdays, 11:00-12:30 The Youth Hall Youth Soccer Clinic Girls & Boys 4-9 Saturdays, 1:30-2:30pm The Youth Hall Today, please take a moment to remember in your prayers Arshaluys Kaleli, Girair Poladian, Rev. Fr. Shnork Souin (Pastor of Sts. Sahag & Mesrob Arm. Church, Providence, RI has gone through heart surgery and currently is in recovery) as well as all the sick and recovering members of our community. May God touch His faithful servants with His healing hand, and grant them good health & recovery. Please inform Der Hayr if you have friends or family who are suffering any physical or spiritual distress and are in need of prayer, and he will add them to his prayer list where they will be remembered before the Holy and Immortal Lamb of God during the Eucharist. We all need prayer both to say for others and to be said for us.

5 CLERGY CONFERENCE AND DI- OCESAN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30TH MAY 6TH, 2018 Dear Parishioners: St. Gregory the Enlightener Church is the host parish for the Clergy Conference and Diocesan Assembly occurring between Monday, April 30th and, May 6th. Our bid was accepted over a year ago and we are thrilled to be coordinating all the activities for this conference/assembly, which also will mark the 50th anniversary of St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral. Please "Hold the Date" for Friday, May 4th for our banquet. We would love to see all of our St. Gregory families be a part of this special occasion as we welcome all those who are coming from our sister churches. Maria Stepanian has been leading this monumental endeavor with a core group of dedicated volunteers. She has already secured the venue for both events and the Renaissance Westchester Hotel has accommodated our requests. Of course "it takes a village" to pull off these events and we welcome any and all volunteers. Please contact Maria at assembly2018@gmail.com / or Lauren Kayaian at teaticket67@netscape.net / if you can help in any way. * * * At the annual awards banquet on Friday, May 4, Toros Mangassarian will be honored as the Diocese s 2018 Armenian Church Member of the Year, and Dr. Stephen Smith (of the USC Shoah Foundation) will be honored as this year s Friend of the Armenians. A special award will be bestowed on Mr. and Mrs. Nazar and Artemis Nazarian, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of St. Vartan Cathedral. These are exciting times for our parish and encourage you to be a part of it!

6 ORDINATION Ordination of the Holy Orders is one of the sacraments of the Armenian Church. Through Ordination, men receive the power and grace to perform the sacred duties of a clergyman of the Church. Ordination is a sacrament by which the Holy Spirit offers the elected person the right to perform the sacraments and to feed Christ s flock. The Sacrament of Ordination is always administered by a Bishop. There are various ranks of clergy within the Church, each with a special service by which each one of these ranks is granted. What is common to all the ranks is the act of laying of the hands (tzernatroutiun) by the Bishop onto the ordinate. By placing his anointed right hand on the ordinate, this continues the unbroken Apostolic succession of authority, granted by the Apostles to the first Bishops of the Church, and carried on today through Ordination. Before entering the major ranks of ecclesiastical order of the Armenian Church, a person must have been ordained to the four minor ranks.

7 Minor Orders One who receives these four minor ranks is known as a tbir (or Acolyte/ clerk). Through the minor orders, the tbir is conferred special privileges which are the foundation of his service to the church as a participant during the worship services. There are four distinct functions of a tbir: doorkeeper (trnaban), reader (untertsogh), exorcist (yertm netsootsich), and candle bearer (momagal). In receiving these ranks, one becomes an Acolyte. On January 21st four young altar servers of our community, Alek Kevorkian, Avedis Ohanissian, Kyle Pidedjian, and Nicholas Cehreci will be ordained to the rank of Acolyte, also Christie Lauren Blonkvist (Leylegian) and Christina Cassetta will receive a special blessing from the Primate for serving and holding candles on the Altar.

8 Today February 4, February 11, February 25, February 23, March 9, 23 April 1, April 31 - May 5 May 6, Divine Liturgy. We welcome His Eminence Archbishop Khajak Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of America, who will ordain the Acolytes of our community at the end of the Divine Liturgy and will preside over the banquet in honor of Der Mesrob s 10th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood. SUPERBOWL SUNDAY TAILGATE PARTY *All are invited* 12:30-2:30pm Sponsored by the St. Gregory MEN's CLUB Details to follow. POON PAREKENTAN beginning of the Great Lent ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY Lenten Friday Evening Programs Details to follow Easter : Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ 116th Annual Diocesan Assembly & Clergy Conference 50th Anniversary of St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral. Pontifical Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral. ACYOA Juniors Anybody who has recently turned 13 years old is welcome to join our juniors' group. Please contact chairperson Emma Daw at emmie09d@gmail.com. Feel free to come by our next meeting on, February 4th following immediately following the Liturgy.