St. Vartan Armenian Church of Mississauga
P.O. Box 51010, 5100 Erin Mills Parkway, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 2C4
Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan, Pastor
Telephone (905) 549-2711 stvartan@cogeco.ca
Making the Sign of the Cross
The custom of making the sign of the cross is as old as Christianity. In the Roman Empire, the cross was an instrument to execute the death penalty. Being nailed to the cross, Christ converted that instrument of death to a symbol of eternal life. To make the sign of the cross is the external sign of belonging to the Christian faith. It is permissible to make the sign of the cross anywhere and any time: on entering the church, before and after saying a prayer, and during Holy Liturgy every time the priest turns and blesses the faithful.
To make the sign of the cross, we join the tips of the thumb, the index and the middle finger as a sign of the Holy Trinity. The other two fingers, the ring and the little finger are clutched together in the palm as a sign of Christ being the perfect God and the perfect man in a single nature.
We first take our three joined fingers to our forehead as we say, “In the name of the Father”, then we lower them to our chest as we say “and the Son”, then to the left side of the chest as we say “and the Holy”, then to the right side of the chest as we say “Spirit”, and finally, we place the open palm to our chest as we say “Amen”.
To touch the forehead symbolizes the heavenly life that we have lost and want to recover by the mediation of the Crucified Savior. Lowering of the hand to the chest signifies the fall from the heavenly to the earthly life. Moving our hand to the left signifies being placed in the rank of the sinners, while to the right, means the blessed life and being placed in the rank of the righteous.
The cross is the sign of Christ that we mark on four sides of our body to stay away from temptations of the world, from the devil, from non-believers and from sins.
The sign of the cross reminds us of the crucified Christ, whose death became the salvation of man. The “Amen” in making the sign of the cross confirms the truth of all of the above.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Today’s service features Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of the Armenian Church of Canada, Preacher and Celebrant @ 1 p.m. Sunday School @ 1:30 p.m. with teacher Taline Paroyan. The children will be learning about Armenian Martyrs Day.
Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Welcome to St. Vartan Armenian Church
If you are a newcomer to St. Vartan, it is a pleasure to welcome you to our Badarak this morning. Thank you for making time in your busy schedule to be with us. We believe that you will sense God’s Spirit among us as we worship today.
Requiem services can be requested for the next church service by calling Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan by Friday, April 29, 2005.
Requiem services have been requested today by Mr. and Mrs. Hampo Shalvardjian and Mr. and Mrs. Berge Shalvardjian and their families for:
Napol and Seta Shalvardjian
Mardiros and Angele Toufayan
Seda Pederian
Hermine Sahaguian
And the Pamboukjian, Hovaghimian, Pederian and Serobiantz families.
Condolences to the family of Barkev Stepanian of Mississauga who passed away Tuesday, April 12, 2005. May God bless his soul.
Mailing List Being Updated - Make Sure You’re On It
Please fill out the mailing list forms you can find on clipboards at the doors of the church today. The Parish Council is updating its mailing list and doesn’t want to miss anyone in future mailings.
Are You New to St. Vartan Armenian Church?
At St. Vartan, we understand how being a “newcomer” can be a bit intimidating. It is our goal to do all we can to make your time with us comfortable and enjoyable. Immediately following the service today we have planned a coffee time for everyone and we invite you to join us. Afterwards, Camp Ararat organizers will be speaking about the Diocese’s summer overnight camp at Echo Lake. We’re glad you’re here and we hope to see you again!
Thank You To Our Helpers
The Parish Council would like to thank the many wonderful volunteers who generously helped to make our Easter Badarak a success—from baking cheoregs and colouring eggs, to making coffee, sandwiches, desserts and Easter baskets. Thank you also to those special people who helped to clean up afterwards.
Ararat Summer Youth Camp August 8-13
All parents are invited to stay after today’s Badarak for an information session and slide presentation about Camp Ararat. This is the first year the summer overnight camp will take place at Echo Lake, in Ontario. Fresh air and several acres of wooded property, a sandy beach and sports fields make for an ideal camp experience. Children from Quebec and Ontario are signing up for a fun six days in August (five nights).
Camp Ararat youth camp is open to children 8 to 14, with a counsellor-in-training (CIT) program for youth 15-17. The Canadian Diocesan camp’s mission is to provide a Christian environment where Armenian children can explore their religion and heritage and develop skills in fellowship and service to their church and community.
St. Vartan Summer Day Camp July 11-15
For the third summer in a row, St. Vartan Armenian Church is running a summer day camp for children four to eight years old. Under the guidance of Mississauga’s Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan, the camp will offer five days of activities with an Armenian theme at Fogolar’s Country Club in Oakville. The children will be able to swim every day in the pool, sing songs, learn prayers, do crafts and play games. Youth, 12 and older and parents are invited to volunteer at the camp. For more information or to volunteer, contact Christine Ermarkaryan at 905-825-5299.
Our next service will be Sunday, May 1, 2005. See you then.