St. Vartan Armenian Church of
Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan,
Pastor
Telephone (905) 549-2711
stvartan@cogeco.ca
(905) 617-7888
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is the feast of Christ's triumphal entry into
The people were waiting for a saviour
to lead them out of bondage to the Romans.
Jesus came, not as a saviour from political
bonds, as they were expecting. Instead, he brought the people spiritual freedom
from the suffering caused by sin.
Christ came to
The first thing Jesus did when he came to
On this day, palm leaves are blessed in church and
distributed to the people with a procession and blessing of the Sunday School children. Right after Soorp
Badarak, the
priest and people pray for entry once again into God's glorious Kingdom and
wait for the church to symbolically open its doors (Ternpatsek),
just as Christ opened the doors for the resurrection of humanity. On
Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday, the curtain before the altar is
opened. Also today, Lent is over. Monday, we enter into Holy Week, and we start
another fasting period. Holy Week
services are intended for us to live out the message of Christ.
Today’s service features Divine Liturgy @
Jesus entered the
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.
St Vartan Invited to Forum with Diocesan
Council
St. Vartan Armenian Church’s
Parish Council was invited to a first-ever joint meeting with the Canadian
Diocesan Council in
In attendance were Primate Bishop Bagrat
Galstanian and Vicar Very Rev. Fr. Ararat Kaltakjian of the Canadian Diocese, Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan of St. Mary’s
Hamilton, Holy Resurrection Windsor and St. Vartan
Mississauga, Rev. Fr. Zareh Arch, Zargarian
of Holy Trinity Toronto and Rev. Fr. Komitas Mirzakhanyan of St. Gregory St. Catharines,
Diocesan Council and parish council members from most of the Southern Ontario
churches of the Diocese.
“Our parishes are
very important cells of our entire Canadian Diocese,” said Bishop Galstanian. “We
called this meeting in a spirit of good will and cooperation, to increase
communication among us for the well-being of our Armenian communities.”
Attending were outgoing parish councillors
Lily Sevadjian, Les Hamblin, new parish councillors Kevork Guerguerian, Julia Dumanian, Heranush Hamblin, Katie Shahinian,
and returning members Vahe Davidkhanian
and Ani Shalvardjian.
“We don’t have our own building but there’s a real
commitment to make this happen for St. Vartan,” said
Mrs. Dumanian.
“There’s an incredible appetite for stability in our parish. We have great ability,
great leadership and we have to have more patience on acquiring a property.”
“It’s refreshing to see the dynamism of
Strong Committed Families in
“I always enjoy having encounters with them, because it
gives us hope that we have strong, committed families in
Those in attendance expressed satisfaction with the meeting
and a desire for further opportunities during the year to communicate with and
support one another.
“I want you to bear in mind you are members of one family,”
concluded Bishop Galstanian at the end of the
meeting. “We care for you very
much. Your
Primate and Diocesan Council is always trying to bring goodness and God’s
presence into your lives. We face so many problems together and I’m very
grateful to all of you as leaders in our community.”
Diocesan Council members are Jack Stepanian,
Ara Boyadjian, Arto Basmadjian, Taro Alepian, Hrant Citak, Lily Sevadjian, Vicar Very
Rev. Fr. Ararat Kaltakjian, and Rev. Fr. Zareh Arch. Zargarian.
We Welcome Newcomers and Visitors
Immediately following the service today, our Sunday School students are hosting an Armenian Café. 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
for Holy Friday, April 14 at
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.
DIVINE LITURGY
Evening Service & Bible Study*
Schedule for April 2006
You are not too bad to come in. You are not too bad to stay out.
Did you know? News Stories and Photos Now Available on St. Vartan’s Website:
www.stvartan.ca
First Meeting of New Parish Council Elects Executive Members
The executive members of St. Vartan
Armenian Apostolic Church of Mississauga were unanimously elected at the first
meeting of the new parish council on Friday, March 24.
Chair Julia Dumanian
Vice Chair Heranush
Hamblin
Secretary Katie
Shahinian
Treasurer Vahe Davidkhanian
Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan joyfully announced he had received approval
from the Primate and Diocesan Council to appoint Katie Shahinian,
Kevork Guerguerian, Hrach Grigoryan and Vahram Vahramian to the parish
council.
Bishop Bagrat Galstanian
surprised parish councillors by attending and
blessing their first meeting, which was held at the home of Mrs. Dumanian.
“My heart is in this parish and I want you to grow. We have a very energetic, enthusiastic, young
parish in this community. May God bless
you to continue bringing goodness and prosperity here,” he said. “I am very positive we can achieve so many
things together. You are a living church
and I am very proud of you.”
Standing committees of the new parish council are:
Special Events Heranush
Hamblin Chair
Marketing &
Communications Ani
Shalvardjian Chair
Choir Hayr Hayrik Chair
Sunday Coffee
Hour Heranush Hamblin Chair
Christian Study
& Fellowship Hrach
Grigorian Co-Chair
Hayr Hayrik Co-Chair
Melkon Melkon
Sunday School Kevork Guerguerian Liaison
Carassauga Katie
Shahinian Liaison
St Vartan Summer Camp Kevork Guerguerian Liaison
ACYOC Mher Torossian Chair
Our next Badarak will celebrate Holy Friday on