St. Vartan Armenian Church of
Very Rev.
Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan,
Pastor
Telephone
(905) 549-2711 stvartan@cogeco.ca
(905)
617-7888
St. Gayane, St. Hripsime
and Their Companions
According to tradition, the Hripsimian sisterhood was home to 37 virgins who lived as
hermits in a Roman monastery around 300 A.D. The Roman emperor saw a
painting of Hripsime and fell desperately in love with
her, vowing to make her his wife.
Not wanting to break her vows by
being forced to marry the emperor, Hripsime and the
other sisters followed their leader, Gayane, out of
The Roman emperor asked
Armenian soldiers found the women,
but instead of sending Hripsime back to
Instead of pushing Hripsime toward marriage, Gayane
told her to stand firm in her faith and vow of chastity. So, King Drtad had Gayane tortured.
Still, she refused to encourage Hripsime to marry.
Because she continued to decline
marriage, the King's forces cruelly tortured and eventually killed Hripsime as well as the other sisters. The Armenian
forces cut out their tongues, pinned them to the ground, burned their bodies,
tore them open with stones, and pierced their eyes.
The martyrdom of these women took
place in the last year of St. Gregory the Illuminator's imprisonment in the
deep pit. When St. Gregory was released, he immediately picked up their
relics, buried them, and built a church at the site.
Today’s service features Divine Liturgy @
Work hard so God can approve
you. Be a good worker, one who does not
need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. Avoid godless, foolish discussions that lead
to more and more ungodliness. This kind
of talk spreads like cancer. II Timothy 2:15-16
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.
Requiem services have been requested today by Mr. Suren Amirkhanian, Mr. and Mrs.
Marisa & Eduard Der-Boghosian,
Mr. & Mrs. Vigen and Clodia
Amirkhanian, Mr. and Mrs. Dimitri
& Rimon Karavas,
Mr. & Mrs. Emil and Ano Hayrapetian
and Mrs. Margush Hayrapetian
for the loving memory of Seda Amirkhanian
(one year). May God bless her soul.
Mrs. Rina Arzumanian, her
daughter Cristine Arzumanian
and cousin Marina for the loving memory of`dear sister and morak Emma Nercessian. May God
bless her soul.
It’s Time to Come Out of the Closet And
Let Your Voice Be Heard
Do you like to sing in the shower? Do you like to sing in the car? How would you like to sing in a real choir,
with a talented and experienced choirmaster to lead you?
St. Vartan’s
Choirmaster Sarkis Hamboyan
invites you to join the church choir.
Male and female voices are needed to sing at St. Vartn’s
Sunday Badaraks and other choral events. Sopranos, altos, tenors, baritones and basses
are all invited. To join, please call Mr. Hamboyan at
(905) 337-1045 or Ani Kerametlian
at (905) 274-7734.
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 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 Sunday, Feb. 26
at
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 keep its mailing
list up-to-date and doesn’t want to miss you in future mailings. If you would like to receive church news by
email, please let us know.
Valentine, Let’s Go to the Kef Night
Join in the romance and fun Saturday,
Feb. 11 when St. Vartan’s will hold a Valentine Kef
Night. Favourite Iranian dishes will be featured, followed by dancing. The Kef Night will be held at St. Cuthbert’s
Anglican Church hall in
Tickets are $30 Adults and $20 Youth.
To reserve your seats, please call Ani Kerametlian at (905) 274-7734 or Vartegez
Simonian at (905) 542-9621 and leave a message.
Get Your Tickets Early for Comedy Theatre In
If you like theatre, you will want
to be there when Alexander Saroukhan’s Menk Hayeren Chenk
Kider is performed on
A well-known and respected member of
the Armenian community in
St. Vartan
Armenian Church invites you to attend the Mezze
Theatre evening which begins at
Yes, There’s Tavloo
Too!
Evening Service &
Bible Study This Friday
Join us for a short evening service
and Bible study with Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan this Friday, February 17 at
The evening service and Bible study
are held at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church at
DIVINE LITURGY
Evening Service & Bible Study
Schedule for March 2006
Did you know? News
Stories and Photos Now Available on St. Vartan’s
Website: www.stvartan.ca
Join in the fun and hard work of
growing a young Armenian church and community. St. Vartan needs
your helping hands, your creative mind and your loving heart to ensure its
future. Please consider serving your
church and Armenian community as a Parish Council member.
We encourage you to consider running
for the Parish Council and other positions within the church. New members with new ideas and skills are
needed to invigorate our church. St Vartan will be electing three members for its nominating
committee, three members for its auditing committee and one person to be
diocesan delegate.
Only paid members are allowed to
vote or be voted to office. Please don’t forget to pay your annual church
membership dues of $100 per family and $60 per individual.
We thank our retiring Parish Council
members for their devotion over the past two years. May God bless them and their families and
keep them ever near to share their valuable experience and advice. Completing their term of office are: Les Hamblin, Ani Kerametlian, Ian MacLennan, Lily Sevadjian and Vartegez Simonian. With one year remaining in their term are Vahe Davidkhanian and Ani Shalvardjian.
Our next
Badarak will be Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006 at 1 p.m. at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican
Church. We hope to see you then.