St. Vartan Armenian Church of Mississauga

P.O. Box 53010, 5100 Erin Mills Parkway, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 5A7

Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan, Pastor

Telephone (905) 549-2711    stvartan@cogeco.ca

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

September and October feature three commemorations of the Holy Cross. Even from the time of the Apostles, the Holy Cross was recognized as the symbol of salvation for all Christians. The cross is the place where God, who became human to redeem human suffering and death, was crucified and died.  It is also the place where He vanquished death through His resurrection, thereby rendering the cross a powerful symbol of eternal life.

The Armenian cross is symbolic of life in these ways:

• the crossbars intersect at a midpoint that signifies the four corners of the world meeting at life's center
• the "empty" Armenian cross (as opposed to the Catholic crucifix bearing the body of Jesus) emphasizes Jesus' victory over death
• the appearance of vines, grapes, and wheat as decorative motifs in the Armenian cross symbolizes the life generated from the cross which was otherwise an instrument of death

Every autumn, the Armenian Church celebrates the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - the most important of the four feasts of the Holy Cross.  

The Exaltation, known as Khachverats in Armenian, refers to the "raising up" or glorification of the cross.  An early tradition identifies St. James, the brother of the Lord-one of Jesus' 12 Apostles-as the first to exalt a cross.  Taking in hand a likeness (or perhaps an actual piece) of the original cross of the Crucifixion, St. James elevated it before the people, and venerated it as a symbol of "the power of God," praying: "We prostrate ourselves before your cross, O Christ."  Those very words in Armenian, Khachi ko, Krisdos, yergirbakanemk, are still repeated in our church services.

What was once an instrument of torture and death became the symbol of salvation, and victory over death.  We see in the cross the instrument on which our Lord sacrificed Himself in order to cleanse mankind of its sins.  The cross for us is the instrument of life: a divine sign that shows the power of life over death.  

September 11, 2005

Today’s service features Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan, Preacher and Celebrant @ 1 p.m. Sunday School @ 1:30 p.m. with teacher Christine Ermarkaryan. The children will be learning about the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing.  But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”  1 Corinthians 1:18

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 afternoon. 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, September 23, 2005.

St. Vartan Has Own Website:   www.stvartan.ca

St. Vartan has its own website now, thanks to parishioner John Donelian of Oakville.  You can check it out by going to www.stvartan.ca .  The website contains information about the Armenian Church, its seven sacraments, the history of St. Vartan, when and where St. Vartan’s Badaraks are being held and lists useful Armenian resources.

Rich Repertoire of Komitas Performed by Armenian Choir

The music of Komitas Vartabed and his students filled St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church last night.  St. Vartan hosted the voices of the Armenian Choir of Toronto, led by Conductor Sarkis Hamboyan, who is also St. Vartan’s Choirmaster.  Mr. Hamboyan selected pieces that would reveal the unique character, beauty, flavour and depth of Armenian music, in tribute to the 70th anniversary of the death of Komitas.  The choral concert was held under the auspices of His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of the Armenian Church of Canada and with the patronage of Mr. and Mrs. Souren and Lili Agemian of Toronto. Joining Mr. Hamboyan were Pianist Taline Artinian-Kelebozian and Assistant Conductor Berj Panossian.

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 in the parish hall.  We’re glad you’re here and we hope to see you again!  Our next service is Sunday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m.

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 needs to update its mailing list and doesn’t want to miss anyone in future mailings. If you would like to receive church news by email, please let us know.

Vartegez Simonian Leads St. Vartan Parish Council

St. Vartan Armenian Church of Mississauga has seven parish council members serving under the leadership of His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of the Armenian Church of Canada and Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan, St. Vartan’s Parish Priest. They are: 

Father Hayrik Hovannisyan, President (905) 549-2711

Vartegez Simonian, Chairman (905) 542-9621

Ian MacLennan, Vice-Chairman (905) 842-2101

Lilian Sevadjian, Treasurer (905) 849-3548

Vaheh Davidkhanian, Vice-Treasurer (905) 823-2428

Ani Kerametlian, Secretary (905) 274-7734

Les Hamblin, Vice-Secretary (905) 820-1329

Ani Shalvardjian, Marketing and Communication (905) 826-6319.

The Parish Council provides worship, music, and children’s and youth ministries, as well as cultural activities for you.  If you are interested in volunteering in any of the church ministries, please let your Parish Council members know. Volunteers are always needed and welcome.

Who Needs TV When You’re at Camp Ararat?

By Ani Altounian

The 2005 Camp Ararat Summer Youth Camp was enjoyed by 101 Canadian Armenian girls and boys ranging in age from eight to 14.  For six fun days and five nights in August, these children were cared for and guided by Camp Director Taline Baltayan and her staff of 30 capable counsellors at Echo Lake near Kingston, Ont.

The spiritual leader and the president of the Camp Ararat committee is our very own beloved Hayr Hayrig Hovhannisyan.  Included among the campers and counsellors were St. Vartan’s Garren Hamblin, Taline, Karina and Aren Shalvardjian, Michelle Hanna, Lara Sevadjian and Haig and Ani Altounian. 

Hup-2-3-4

Participants came from all corners of the Canadian Diocese including Vancouver, B.C.; Ottawa, Ajax, Scarborough, North York, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Whitby, Woodbridge,Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville and St. Catharine’s, Ont.; and Montreal, Quebec City and Laval, Que. For the first time, Camp Ararat’s counsellors were assisted by nine counsellors-in-training (aged 15-17) under the leadership of Maida Icliates of Toronto.

Each day, campers woke for group exercises, followed by a hearty breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and the morning prayer. After cleaning up, groups gathered for rotations of Bible study, field games and crafts. Once lunch was digested and free time enjoyed, these same three groups found one another for an afternoon of swimming, canoeing and field games.  Although counsellor groups were based on the ages of the girls and boys, the activity groups were a true mix so that campers of different ages would get to know one another.

Canoeing Fun

The canoeing program, directed by Raffy Chouljian of Toronto, included practice on capsizing and other safety tips, after which campers enjoyed canoeing with counsellors along the lake front.  As afternoons drew to a close, free time was given to campers before and after dinner.  In the evening, there was evening prayer and a camp fire with song, marshmallows and graham crackers.  Around 9:00 p.m. campers retreated to their respective dormitories, summarized their day in their journals and bid goodnight at 10 p.m.

The wonderful week ended with: a regatta during which team spirit prevailed and athletes were discovered; a talent show filled with almost two hours of entertainment (who needs TV?); and the signing of books, the exchange of phone numbers/emails and discussions about reunions.  Camp Ararat brought out the best in our children, offered them the chance to forge new friendships and reinforced their Armenian heritage.

Learning Armenian Songs and Shoorch Bar at St. Vartan Camp

By Arno Ermarkaryan

On the morning of July 12, 2005, a group of 26 Armenian children, three to nine years old, gathered at Fogolar’s Country Club in Oakville, Ont. They were there to participate in the week-long St. Vartan Summer Day Camp under the leadership of Hayr Hayrik Hovhannesyan.

Campers participated in a variety of activities with each day having its own theme (e.g. Armenian Food, Armenian Church, Travel through Armenia and Nature). A variety of crafts were made, including a mosaic of Armenian play food, Kshotz (shakers used in church that have bells on the end tied to a round metal piece), and a nature picture frame among others. The children participated in games like Armenian Bingo, learned shoorch bar and sang Armenian songs. The children were also given the chance to play soccer and swim.

Performance for Parents

The St. Vartan Summer Day Camp wrapped up on Friday with a family picnic lunch, exhibition of crafts, a slide show of the children at camp and a performance for parents. The campers opened their show by reciting Hayr Mer, then sang the beautiful Hye Menank and Im Erepouni songs which they had learned during the week. Campers then wrapped up their show with a Shoorch Bar.

Organizing a camp like this is a major undertaking for the St. Vartan Mississauga parish, and would not have been possible without the contribution of time and money by many individuals.

Camp Depends on Efforts of ManyVolunteers

Thank you to the team of 12 counsellors who assisted Hayr Hayrik during the week: Tadeh Armenian, Armen Dumanian, Vana and Mirna Hairabedian, Garren Hamblin, Lori and Nyrie Israelian, Aline and Nairi Kazazian, Dikran and Sarkis Markdikian and Christine Sevadjian.

A thank you also goes out to the parent volunteers who helped: Taline Paroyan, Ani Altounian, Katrin Yaldizciyan, Aggie, Christine Sakarya, and Christine Ermarkaryan as well as the organizing committee of the camp which included Ani Altounian, Taline Paroyan, Houri Simonian, and Christine Ermarkaryan.

We would like to thank the following members of our community for their donations toward operating expenses of the camp: Onnig and Nora Pilibbossian, Loris and Julia Dumanian, Dikran and Katrin Yaldizciyan, Vic and Aida Sevadjian, Andy and Najda Zada, Houri Simonian, Aida Sohrabian, Arno and Christine Ermarkaryan,, Halton Catholic District School Board, Anonymous, McDonald’s Canada, Coca-Cola Bottling Company and Voortman Cookies.  Special thanks to the parents who supported the camp by bringing their children, and, last but not least, special thanks to Hayr Hayrik for his leadership and efforts to continue to make this camp a reality.

Welcome back.  We hope you enjoyed your summer.  Our next Badarak will be Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005 at 1 p.m. at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church.  See you then.