Palm Sunday at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On March 29, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Armenian Church celebrated the Feast of Palm Sunday, which commemorates the triumphant entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday is also annually declared to be the Blessing of Children Day.

Following morning services, after the festive songs and psalms of the Morning Service, His Holiness presided and offered the blessing service for the four corners of the world (Andastan) in the courtyard of the Mother Cathedral.

Following the service, His Holiness expressed his appreciation to the children’s parents, who aware of the sacred mystery of the day celebrate Palm Sunday together with their children in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. The Catholicos of All Armenians offered a prayer and wished that Almighty God keep and support all Armenian children, granting them a peaceful and undisturbed life, and that they be the nation’s patriotic and God-loving children.

Following the special prayer, the Catholicos of All Armenians granted crosses to the children and blessed branches were distributed to the faithful.

His Eminence Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See, was the celebrant of the Divine Liturgy offered in the Mother Cathedral. In his sermon Archbishop Nathan reflected on the sacred mystery of Palm Sunday and the spiritual message of the Day, noting that Christian churches celebrate this green and prosperous feast on the same day.

“…We especially celebrate that Jesus showed us “the way”, by His entry into Jerusalem, and God’s truth; the way by which the Church continues Jesus’ mission today. 2000 years have passed since that day, and the Church is still traveling along that same path. Do we sometimes wonder what has changed? Unfortunately, very little has changed. Today we often hear people mutter and complain, and expect things from the Church which are not the mission of the Church. And when their expectations are not fulfilled, they turn around and quickly forget the Hosannas. However, the Church never chooses the broad path of love and pleasing, but the narrow and difficult path which Jesus traveled leading to Jerusalem, knowing that there He must accept the death of the cross”, said Archbishop Nathan.

In his sermon His Eminence specifically mentioned the children gathered in the Cathedral, noting that their happiness was not from expectations, but that their source of joy was at being with the Lord and protected under His blessings. Archbishop Nathan also urged the adults to always be mindful of the image of their children – purity, impartiality and absolute joy.

At the conclusion of the service, the Pontiff of All Armenians offered a prayer of blessing for children, during which the Pontiff of All Armenians blessed the hundreds of children who had gathered in the Mother Cathedral.

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