Palm Easter Celebrations at the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem – 2/4/18

On Sunday, April 1 2018, we celebrated Palm Easter, remembering when our Lord entered Jerusalem. In the Gospel of Matthew we read that our Lord send two of His disciples to a village to acquire a donkey and its colt. So He entered the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, exactly as the prophet Zechariah prophesied:

“ Behold, your king comes to you, righteous and bringing salvation. He is humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt the foal of donkey.” (Zech 9:9)
Christ chose to ride on a donkey, as a donkey symbolizes peace, while a horse is a symbol of war. Christ is the Prince of Peace of whom the Prophet Isaiah spoke.

The crowds in the city recognized that He was the promised Messiah, lay cloaks and tree branches on the ground before Him, and they welcomed Him with “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

In the Armenian religious tradition Palm Sunday has a special liturgy in the afternoon. During that liturgy, priests kneel in front of the closed curtains and pray God to reopen the doors of Paradise. Then the curtains that covered the altars in church during Lent, will be opened.

Palm Easter is the beginning of Holy Week, when Christ made Himself the ultimate sacrifice and died for our sins.

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