Feast Day of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ Celebrated in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On February 14, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church celebrated the Feast day commemorating the presentation of the 40 day-old Christ Child to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The festivities began on the evening of February 13 in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

With the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; Evening Service were offered. Evening Services were followed by this year’s first Andastan Service wherein the four corners of the world were blessed. Then under the delightful “Christ in Glory” hym, a candle was lit by His Holiness from the Holy Altar of Descent, and was processed to the courtyard of the Gevorgyan Theological Seminary, where a traditional fire was lit, in symbolism of the Light and Wisdom of Christ. Seminarians of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary, performed psalms and national songs and the faithful who were present lit candles from the fire and carried them to their homes.

On February 14, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Mother Cathedral. The celebrant was Archmindrate Rev. Fr. Zakaria Baghumyan, Member of the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

In his sermon message, Father Zakaria reflected on the mystery of the feast, stressing that for everyone it must become an opportunity for internal transformation and transfiguration. “This Apostolic Feast is an invitation leading to God, light and hope, which fills our hearts and souls with love and warmth; once again reminding us of meeting the Lord, evaluating our lives by Him, and the necessity of having the Eternal Light of our Lord inside us. Today more than ever we need the light of God, so that the darkness of ignorance disperses. Therefore, we won’t be only the bearer of light, but be the light around us, showing by our example the sweetness of being a member of Christianity and the Church”, noted Father Zakaria.

At the conclusion of Divine Liturgy, His Grace Bishop Moushegh Babayan offered a special service blessing newly married couples in the Mother Cathedral, to which participated also the newly married deacons.

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