Ordination of Priests in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
On 23 May, the feast of Pentecost, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin during the celebration of Divine Liturgy, four deacons of the Armenian Church were consecrated and ordained to the Holy Order of Priesthood by His Grace Bishop Armash Nalbandian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Damascus.
Prior to evening services on 22 May, the Service of Calling was offered, whereupon the four young men confirmed their desire to be ordained the following day as priests in the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church. The candidates – Deacon Samvel Zargaryan, Deacon Aram Simonyan, Deacon Vigen Baghumyan and Deacon Mihran Gabrielyan, stood before the Holy Altar of Descent and professed the true faith before the Ordaining Bishop, the members of the brotherhood of the Mother See, and the faithful. During the Service of Calling, the deacons renounced the old and new false teachings of heretics and schismatics and declared their vows of full service towards the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.
During the celebration of Divine Liturgy, Bishop Armash consecrated the foreheads, then hands of the new priests with Holy Chrism (Muron) and gave them new names: Fr. Yeprem (Dn. Samvel), Fr. Shavarsh (Dn. Aram), Fr. Voskan (Dn. Vigen), and Fr. Gnel (Dn. Mihran), in honor of the recent past primates of the Armenian Diocese of Damascus.
“Today the Armenian Church celebrates the feast of Pentecost, which is also the feast of the establishment of the Holy Church. And today, at this moment of celebration of the Divine Liturgy when Almighty God is invisibly present with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, who is inside us through our prayers, we invite our newly ordained beloved brothers, Fr. Yeprem, Fr. Shavarsh, Fr. Voskan, and Fr. Gnel into the Church. You are called to preach the Gospel, to lead people to God, and to plant in their hearts the pearls of the Holy Bible,” – Bishop Armash stated in part. He also advised the newly ordained priests, “Dear beloveds, seek God from within and pray to the Holy Spirit by opening your hearts. Let in the Holy Spirit with his flames, in order to blaze, incinerate and rebuild your hearts and souls, so that God’s graces will pervade and the virtues of the Holy Spirit will shine from within you.”
The ordination was attended by Patriarchal Vicars, Primates and Bishops of the Christian Churches of Damascus who were visiting the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on a pilgrimage.
Following their ordination, the newly ordained priests will observe a 40 day seclusion period of fasting and prayer in the Mother See, after which they will offer their first Divine Liturgy. Then by the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, they will be called to serve in the dioceses of the Armenian Church and departments of the Mother See.
