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.
In the early morning of that first Easter Sunday, when Mary,
and Mary Magdalene, went out to see the tomb, they found an angel, who
announced that their greatest hope had come to pass. Can you imagine their
overwhelming joy and their excitement? The angel told them not to be afraid,
that Jesus was not dead but alive and among his people, and to go spread the
great news about Jesus’ resurrection.
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
According to Armenian tradition, 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
Divine Liturgy @
Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they came to
the tomb. On the way there were discussing who would roll the stone away from
the entrance to the tomb. But when they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone—a
very large one—had already been rolled aside. So they entered the tomb, and
there on the right sat a young man clothed in a white robe. The women were
startled, but the angel said, “Do not be so surprised. You are looking for
Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He has been raised from
the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and give this message
to his disciples, including Peter: Jesus
is going ahead of you to
Welcome to St. Vartan Armenian Church
If you are a newcomer to St. Vartan,
it is a pleasure to welcome you to our Soorp 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 together
today.
Requiem services (hokehankist) can
be requested for the next church service by calling Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan. A requiem
may be requested following the death of a loved one, 40 days after their death
(karasoonk),the yearly anniversary,
name day, birthday or Mother’s Day.
Prayer
Prince of life and bestower of
peace, O Christ our God, lead us into thy paths of righteousness that we may
reach the haven of life and salvation through the grace of thy mercy; for thou
art our help and saviour, and unto thee is due glory,
dominion and honour now and forever, world without
end. Amen.
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
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.
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 make your time with us comfortable and enjoyable. Immediately following the service today please
join us in the church hall for refreshments.
We’re glad you’re here and we hope to see you again! Our next service is at
Church Envelopes
St. Vartan now has offering envelopes
that you can pick up in the church’s entrance foyer, by the candles. Please help yourself. We thank God for your support and the
blessing of your presence.
With Faith I Confess - #2
With faith I confess and worship Thee, indivisible Light,
the united holy Trinity and one Godhead, creator of light an dispeller of
darkness, drive awy from my soul the darkness of sin
and ignorance, and enlighten my mind at this hour, that I may offer unto Thee
acceptable prayers, and obtain of Thee the fulfillment of my desires;; have
mercy upon Thy creatures and upon me a great sinner.
With Faith I Confess - #10
O Christ, Thou living fire, stir up in my soul the fire of
Thy love which Thou didst shed upon the earth, that it may burn the impurities
of my soul and cleanse my conscience and purge the sins of my body, and kindle
the light of Thy knowledge in my heart; have mercy upon Thy creatures and upon
me a great sinner.
With Faith I Confess - #16
O my God, who openest Thy hand and
fillest all Thy cratures with
Thy mercy, I surrender myself unto Thee; do Thou care for me and provide the
necessities of my body and soul henceforth and evermore; have mercy upon Thy
creatures and upon me a great sinner.
Prayers of St. Nerses Shnorhali
Schedule for April--May 2007
DIVINE LITURGY & Evening Activities
Easter
Sunday
Requiem
for Armenian Genocide Victims
Simple Rules for Prayer
The three principles of prayer:
·
keep
it honest
·
keep
it simple
·
and,keep it up.
The main requirement in prayer is honesty, approaching God
“just as we are.” When you are praying
for what you really want, you will not be distracted. Pray always, to know God,and to let yourself be loved
by him.
Notes from Philip Yancy’s book
Prayer, Does it Make Any Difference?
Did you know?
News Stories and Photos Now Available on St. Vartan’s Website: www.stvartan.ca,
and Canadian Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church’s Website: www.armenianchurch.ca.
When we indeed participate in the life of God we will always discover
more of God’s mystery in each other.
The
Why is Easter celebrated on a different day each year?
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. Thus,Easter would
fall between March 22 and April 25. For each annual celebration, they thought
to maintain the same day of the week (Sunday), the same season of the year,
(Spring, shortly after the equinox), and the same relationship to the
astronomical full moon (a few days following the full moon) that occurred at the
time of Jesus¹ resurrection.
Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are
simply part of the curriculum, that appear, and fade away, like algebra class,
but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
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.
Envy is a waste of time. You
already have all you need.
Space for Rent
If you would like to advertise in our Sunday service
booklets, please call Ani Shalvardjian
(905) 826-6319 or Heranush Hamblin (905) 820-1329 or email
us at anijan2@gmail.com . Advertisers receive a church donation
receipt.
Our next Soorp Badarak will be on
Sunday, April 22, at