St. Vartan
Armenian Apostolic
Vol. 1 No. 7
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Holy Apostles St. Thaddeus and St.
Bartholomew
The Apostles
brought the teachings of Jesus and God’s message of salvation and everlasting
life to men and women living in countries far from the
Saints Thaddeus
and Bartholomew received their commission to
Saints Thaddeus
and Bartholomew both preached throughout
St. Bartholomew
Following the
crucifixion of Christ, Bartholomew traveled the world, preaching the Lord's message,
performing miracles, and baptizing new believers. He made his way to
St. Bartholomew
entered the Armenian provinces of Her and Zarevant, where he performed many miracles, healed the
sick, exorcised demons, and comforted many with the teachings of Jesus. In
the city of
Princess Vokouhi, the sister of King Sanadroug,
came to see the Apostle in secret. After hearing him preach, she began to
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. She exchanged her royal garments for
the simple robe of nuns and accompanied St. Bartholomew, spreading the good
news of the gospel.
General Cured of Leprosy
The king, whose
daughter was saved by the Apostle Thaddeus, became frantic and sent General Terentios to investigate. General Terentios,
who suffered from leprosy, found the two, and after listening to Bartholomew,
accepted Christ and was baptized, at which time his leprosy was healed.
When this news
reached the king, he was livid. He sent soldiers to arrest them and
brought them before a special tribunal.
For six hours the believers were tortured and beaten. The
soldiers, believing Bartholomew was dead after the torture, tossed him outside
the city. But Bartholomew was alive, and as he sat there broken and
beaten, people began to gather around him. He lifted his hands toward
heaven and said, "Lord God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, do not
overlook the entreaties of the apostles who laboured
for this country. Grant to these people the grace of your mercy and
enable them to renounce the worship of their vain idols."
Giant Arc of Light
When the
Apostle finished praying, the earth shook and a giant arc of light hovered
above him. The Holy Apostle Thaddeus appeared before him in bodily form,
welcoming St. Bartholomew to heaven. A light shone above St.
Bartholomew's body for 12 days.
St. Judas Thaddeus
One of Jesus'
apostles, Thaddeus was sent to
When this news
reached King Sanadroug, he was furious and ordered
all Christians killed. As his soldiers were about to kill St. Thaddeus,
there was a tremor and a bright light streaked across the sky, which frightened
the would-be assassins away. The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Thaddeus and
said, "Your preaching will be rejected. But those who are martyred
for the sake of my name will be accorded a place in my Father's house."
Eventually, the
king's soldiers arrested St. Thaddeus and threw him in jail. But the king
continued to be alarmed, because more and more people were accepting
Christ. As he ordered the death of Christians, the king wept and
remembered his jailed daughter, Santoukhd.
St. Thaddeus
and Santoukhd were brought before the king, who asked
his daughter, "Do you renounce me and love that deceiver? I will destroy
him and you by torturing you to death." Santoukhd
replied, "The person whom you call a deceiver led me from lies to the true
God." As she continued professing her faith, the king ordered
soldiers to tie his daughter's hands behind her back and whip her until she
renounces Christ.
The earth shook
and a loud voice said, "Brave maiden, stand firm and don't be afraid, for
I am with you." The chains binding Santoukhd
broke and she, St. Thaddeus, and other believers were able to leave the king
and his soldiers.
In a distant
valley, Santoukhd retrieved the bodies of the
Christian martyrs killed by her father's soldiers and gave them a proper
burial. She comforted the grieving, fed them, clothed them, and performed
many miracles. The king complained that his daughter was misleading people
and resolved to have her killed. She was arrested and led to the
executioner, who picked up a sword intended for Santoukhd,
but instead struck and killed his chieftain. The non-Christians assembled
for the execution then attacked Santoukhd, but ended
up only killing each other, leaving Santoukhd among
the dead.
Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent
Advent means
“coming,”—simply, the arrival of Christ. In Armenian, it is called Hisnag from the word for “fifty.” Advent in the Armenian
Church is approximately two weeks longer than it is in the Western churches,
and that is why it is called Hisnak, because it lasts
for 50 days.
Advent is a
time when we prepare to celebrate the feast of the birth of Christ. It is a
time for us to think of the why of Christmas – why the greeting cards, the
decorations, the gifts, and the family gatherings? It is a time to look within
our hearts to see if there is anything that stands between us and the good news
of Jesus’ birth.
During Advent,
we can rededicate ourselves to Christ through our actions, thoughts, and prayers.
This is a good time for us to improve our habits and offer them as gifts to
God. Perhaps Advent can also be an occasion to discover God’s gifts all around
us. We need to have an open heart to receive Christ – God’s greatest gift of
all!
We complain that
Christmas is too “commercial,” but there is a way to live out the real “reason
for the season.” Try this: spend a few minutes a day on your spiritual
preparation by reading and writing in a journal. If you do, Christmas will mean
a whole lot more to you this year.
Fasting During Hisnak
In the Eastern
Orthodox Churches, the Season of Advent has been a time of fasting and
penitence for sins, similar to the Season of Lent. Hisnak
is introduced by a week of fasting. There is a second fast of a week's
duration following the third Sunday of Hisnak.
This fast is known as "the Fast of St. James Bishop of Nisibis."
The third and final fast, again of a week's duration, precedes the Feast of the
Nativity on Jan 6. During the remaining weeks of Hisnak
when there is no fasting, the Wednesdays and Fridays are regularly observed as
fasting days.
We wait for the
arrival of the baby in
We are called
to holy living, to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s
people. So, as the church celebrates, it also confesses its own responsibility
as a people commissioned to "love the Lord your God with all your
heart" and to "love your neighbour as
yourself."
Advent is
marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing.
There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first
expressed by Israelite slaves in
This emphasis
on the Second Advent includes themes of accountability for faithfulness,
judgment on sin, and the hope of eternal life. The spirit of Advent is
expressed well in the parable of the bridesmaids who are anxiously awaiting the
coming of the Bridegroom (Matt 25:1-13). There is profound joy at the
Bridegroom’s expected coming. And yet a warning of the need for preparation
echoes through the parable.
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 feel God’s Spirit among us as we worship together.
Divine Liturgy @
Meet our pastor
Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan
905-916-1886 905-617-7888
stvartan@hotmail.com
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 Father’s/Mother’s Day.
Did you know?
News Stories and Photos Available on St. Vartan’s
Website: www.stvartan.ca
Schedule
Dec. 2007-Jan.
2008
Soorp
Badarak &
Hayr Hayrik’s Hospitality
Luncheon
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Soorp
Badarak
Go Out and Love Them
--That’s What Jesus Did
We’re the body
of Christ, a community of people. What makes us think that church happens at
Why can’t the
church be like a big river instead of being stuck in a holy location? It’s
liquid, not static. It’s not stuck in a building.
Colin McCartney
UrbanPromise Toronto
Value of Persistence
A small but
always persistent discipline is a great force, for a soft drop falling
persistently hollows out hard rock.
Make it your
ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your
hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of
outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
1 Thessalonians
4:11-12
Are You On Our Mailing List?
The Parish
Council needs your help to keep its mailing list up-to-date. Sign up to receive church news by email. Clipboards are at the church entrance doors.
Prayer is the act of
attempting to communicate with a deity or spirit for the purpose of worshiping,
requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins or to express one's
thoughts and emotions. The words of the prayer may take the form of a hymn,
incantation or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person's words.
Pray for Married Couples
The Gospel brings
together two realities that often give us pause: life and marriage. Both of these can be challenging and life
affirming. They are united by a common
experience of self-sacrifice. It is in
living for others that we find our lives enhanced and we are able to see the
beauty and goodness of God in those whom we meet and in creation. Whether we are married or not, when we look
only to serve ourselves, we find our life diminishing and confining. Marriage is a covenant relationship between
God and a man and a woman in which all three bind themselves to the other. The unity of marriage is only achieved when
we are willing to live our lives for the other.
Ask yourselves, “Do I not experience joy when I witness a married couple
who truly love each other?” I invite you
to pray for those who are engaged, that they will experience the grace God
wishes to pour out in their lives so they make wise decisions. I invite you to pray for married couples that
the faithfulness of God will be reflected in the faithfulness of their
marriage.
Fr. Mike J. Mellone
Saint Andrew
Apostle
Catholic Church
How to Get Along Better with
Everyone
Before you say
anything to anyone, ask yourself three things:
·
Is it true?
·
Is it kind?
·
Is it necessary?
1. Make promises sparingly and keep them faithfully.
2. Never miss the opportunity to compliment or say something encouraging to
someone.
3. Refuse to talk negatively about others; don’t gossip and don’t listen to
gossip.
4. Have a forgiving view of people.
Believe that most people are doing the best they can.
5. Keep an open mind. Discuss, but don’t argue (it is possible to disagree
without being disagreeable).
6. Forget about counting to 10. Count to 1,000 before doing or saying anything
that could make matters worse.
7. Let your virtues speak for themselves.
8. If someone criticizes you, see if there is any truth to what he is
saying. If so, then make changes. If there is no truth to the criticism, then
ignore it and live so that no one will believe the negative remarks.
9. Cultivate your sense of humor; laughter is the shortest distance between
two people.
Armenian Church Has Seven Sacraments
What is Penitence?
Penitence is
one of the seven sacraments of the
Penitence is
the sacrament of righteousness and purity, by means of which the penitent conscientiously
regrets and sincerely confesses and is given absolution of sins. Jesus Christ
accorded great importance to the idea of penitence and confession existing in
the Old Testament (See Joel 2:12-14, Numbers 7:58, Lev. 5:4:8).
His words
concerning penitence are repeatedly mentioned in the New Testament: “Repent, for the Kingdom of
heaven is near.” (Mat.4:17), “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too
will all perish.” (Luke 13:3).
The three conditions of the
sacrament of penitence are:
1. Sincere,
conscientious and true repentance for sins
2. Confession; that is, admitting the sin
3. Retribution and atonement corresponding to
the seriousness of sins.
In the first
centuries of the Christian Church, confession was made mainly publicly, and
only sometimes individually.
In the Catholic
Church, the person confesses his/her sins to the clergy. The same order has
existed in the Armenian Church.
According to
Canon 19 of the II Ecclesiastical Council convened in Dvin,
the priest who revealed the secrets and sins of confession was to be defrocked.
According to Canon 18 of the same council, a priest was not allowed to receive
any payment for confession.
Later, in the
Armenian Church, individual confession was replaced by public or collective
confession. In the Armenian Church, the celebrant priest, before ascending the
Holy Altar, publicly confesses his sin to the people in attendance: “I confess
before God and the Holy Mother-of-God and before all the saints and before you,
fathers and brethren, all the sins that I have committed…” (according
to the Divine Liturgy of the
According to
the doctrine of the Armenian Church, confession is made in the Church, in the
presence of God’s servant. Only an ordained priest has the right to give
absolution of sins. Prior to receiving Holy Communion, the faithful kneel
before the priest, and read from the Hour-Book the series of sins, starting
with the prayer, “I have sinned, Most Holy Trinity”. At the end of each
section, they repeat: “I have sinned.”
In response,
the priest says: “May God grant you absolution of sins.” The priest prays for
God to hear the sinner’s supplication and confession, turning him/her into the
temple of the Holy Spirit. The priest then
faces west and recites the text of renouncement three times. The faithful then
turn to the east and recite the profession of faith. Only afterwards is the
repenting person purified and prepared to receive Holy Communion.
Traditionally,
in the Armenian Church, Wednesdays and Fridays are fasting days, and therefore,
also days of penitence. The period of Great Lent also is a period of penitence.
In the past, the Armenian Church had a special day for penitence–Holy Thursday,
when the Unction of the Penitents was performed following which Divine Liturgy
was celebrated, symbolizing the establishment of the Sacrament of Communion.
Second Marriage?
I am 23 and I
am going to marry a person who is divorced. It is my desire to get married in
the Church and to receive God’s blessing. Is this possible?
If the divorce
is legal, then it is possible to get married in the Church and to receive God’s
blessing without any problem. However, if one of you is getting married for the
second time, then he should present the certificate of divorce of the first
marriage and should have the permission of the Primate of the Diocese for the
second marriage. In this way, there should be no problem for getting married in
the Church. No one is guilty for his/her personal failure. Each person has the
chance to start a new life.
Fr. Shmavon Ghevondian
Next Service
Our next Soorp Badarak will be at
Immediately after Soorp
Badarak today, everyone is invited to
the Church Hall for Hayr Hayrik’s
Hospitality Luncheon.