St. Vartan Armenian Church of
Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan,
Pastor
Telephone (905) 549-2711
stvartan@cogeco.ca
(905) 617-7888
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday celebrates the joy of the Resurrection of
Jesus Christ. The choir and congregation
exult:
Christ is risen from the
dead! He trampled down death by death and by His Resurrection He granted
life unto us. Glory unto Him for all ages.
Amen.
The faithful exchange the Easter greeting: Krisdos haryav ee merelotz. Orhnyal eh harootiunun Krisdosee.
The faithful share a joyous Easter feast, often including
lamb and coloured eggs (symbols of new life) and
Easter bread (cheoreg). Because the use of eggs
was forbidden during Lent, they were brought to the table on Easter Day, coloured red to symbolize the Easter joy. This custom is
found in the Latin and
Easter is the greatest festival in the Christian Church. In
the beginning, Christians of Jewish origin commemorated Easter immediately
after Passover, which occurs on the evening of a full moon and corresponds to a
fixed date according to the Jewish (lunar) calendar.
In 325 A.D., the Council of Nicaea
decided that Easter should be commemorated on the first Sunday after the first
full moon on or after March 21st, which was the date of the vernal equinox in
that year.
The
While virtually all secular institutions today are using the
Gregorian calendar, some Eastern Orthodox Churches (including the Russian
Orthodox) have not accepted it and are using the Julian calendar to calculate
the dates of Easter and all their feasts.
Easter
Divine Liturgy @
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given
complete authority in heaven and on earth.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey al the
commands I have given you. And be sure
of this: I am with you always, even to
the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 16-20 .
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 evening. 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.
We wish you a very joyous Easter
Christ has risen from the dead, Blessed be the
resurrection of Christ.
Bunnies, Cheoregs and Coloured
Easter Eggs
Another sure way to tell it’s
Easter is because we are selling bunnies, home-made cheoeregs
and coloured Easter eggs this weekend at St. Vartan Armenian Church.
If you have placed an order for these items, they will be
available in the church hall today, after the Easter Sunday Soorp
Badarak. We thank you for your much-valued
encouragement and support of the fund-raising efforts of our hard-working
volunteers.
We Welcome Newcomers and Visitors
Immediately following the service today we have a coffee
hour 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 on
Are You On Our Mailing List?
Please fill out the forms you can find on clipboards at the
doors of the church today. The Parish
Council needs your help to keep its mailing list up-to-date. Sign up to receive church news by email.
Easter Message of Faith: Karekin II
"The message of the Feast of Easter is faith. Our
resurrected life with the Redeemer begins with faith, and with faith it
strengthens and flourishes. With faith, self-sacrifice becomes natural, and
love for a neighbour becomes the source of joy and
happiness. This is the deep and mysterious miracle of the Resurrection, always
aspiring to eternal heights, to truth, to justice and to the good. Beloved
Armenians, with the light of your faith turn your life to glorifying God, so
that in all your works, your heartbeat is strong, your love emanates, and your
will for the just, the true and the good is victorious", said His Holiness
Karekin 11, Catholicos of
All Armenians.
The Catholicos of All Armenians
calls upon the pious faithful to follow the examples of their luminous
forefathers in overcoming all difficulties in this temporal life, to see the
providential love of God beyond material goods, to believe in the saving
mission and strength of the Risen Christ.
On the Monday after Easter, Armenian families visit the
graves of loved ones, share choereg and eggs among
themselves, and whisper to their departed loved ones, Krisdos
haryatz ee merelotz!
Easter Sunday is followed by a period of 40 days
(Eastertide), during which time there are no saints' days or fasting
days. This period is dedicated to the glory of Christ's Resurrection and
to the mystery of the resurrected Saviour’s
encounters with His Apostles and followers, during the 40 days He spent on
earth after His Resurrection.
Mother See of Etchmiadzin, Press
Release,
Volunteer Reporters, Digital Photographers Needed
If you would like to try your hand at writing short news
stories or taking digital pictures at our church events, please join our
team. St. Vartan
Armenian Church needs writers and photographers to provide material for its
Sunday tertig, its website and the Diocesan
website. Please call Ani
Shalvardjian, or email anijan2@gmail.com. Thanks.
Blessing High School, University and College Graduates
Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan would like to bless our graduating students on
Please let us know about graduates in our community by
calling Father Hayrik at 905-617-7888 or sending an
email to anijan2@gmail.com. Thank you.
When we kiss an icon, are we worshipping that saint?
No. The saints have fallen asleep in Christ. We have icons
to remind ourselves of them, to pray for them, and to ask them to pray for us.
They do not have the power to directly intervene in our lives, but they can
pray to God on our behalf.
Did you know? News
Stories and Photos Now Available on St. Vartan’s
Website: www.stvartan.ca, and the Armenian Diocese of
Join Father Hayrik on a Special Visit This
Summer to
Meet with His Holiness Karekin II,
Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians.
Celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Holy See of Etchmiadzin.
Sightsee in
Join the pilgrimage to
Information and registration on Sunday, April 30, 2006, at 3
p.m., following Divine Liturgy at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church, 1541 Oakhill Drive, Oakville. As seats are limited, priority
will be given on a first-come, first-served basis. Deposit of $300 is non-refundable. The last day for registration is
DIVINE LITURGY
Evening Service & Bible Study*
Schedule for April 2006
Our next Soorp Badarak will be
held