St. Vartan
Armenian Apostolic
Vol. 1 No. 13
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The Story of Good Friday
The last hours and death of Jesus
Jesus Christ,
having been arrested in the
Conflicting
testimony against Jesus is brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus
answers nothing. Finally the high priest adjures Jesus to respond under solemn
oath, saying "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the
Anointed One, the Son of God?" Jesus testifies in the affirmative,
"You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the
right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high
priest condemns Jesus for blasphemy, and the Sanhedrin concurs with a sentence
of death (Matthew 26:57-66).
Pilate authorizes the Jewish leaders
to judge Jesus
In the morning
the whole assembly brings Jesus to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, under
charges of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, and making himself
a king (Luke 23:1-2). Pilate authorizes the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus
according to their own Law and execute sentencing, however the Jewish leaders
reply that they are not allowed by the Romans to carry out a sentence of death
(John
Pilate
questions Jesus, and tells the assembly that there is no basis for sentencing.
Upon learning that Jesus is from
It was a custom
during the feast of Passover for the Romans to release one prisoner as
requested by the Jews. Pilate asks the crowd who they would like to be
released. Under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd asks for Barabbas, who had been imprisoned for committing murder
during an insurrection.
Another secret
follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus (John 3:1) also
came bringing 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, and places them in the linen with
the body of Jesus, according to Jewish burial customs (John 19:39-40). They
rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb (Matthew 27:60). Then they
returned home and rested, because at sunset began the Sabbath (Luke
Pilate asks
what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demand, "Crucify
him" (Mark 15:6-14). Pilate's wife had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that
day; she forewarns Pilate to "have nothing to do with this righteous
man" (Matthew 27:19).
Pilate has
Jesus flogged, then brings him out to the crowd to
release him. The chief priests inform Pilate of a new charge, demanding Jesus
be sentenced to death "because he claimed to be God's son." This
possibility filled Pilate with fear, and he brought Jesus back inside the
palace and demanded to know from where he came (John 19:1-9).
Pilate declares Jesus innocent
Coming before
the crowd one last time, Pilate declares Jesus innocent, washing his own hands
in water to show he has no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate
hands Jesus over to be crucified in order to forestall a riot (Matthew
27:24-26). The sentence written is "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."
Jesus carries his cross to the site of execution, called the place of the
Skull, or "
Jesus agonizes
on the cross for three hours while the sun is darkened. With a loud cry, Jesus
gives up his spirit. There is an earthquake, tombs break open, and the curtain
in the
Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and secret follower of
Jesus, who had not consented to his condemnation, goes to Pilate to request the
body of Jesus (Luke 23:50-52). Pilate asks confirmation from the centurion
whether Jesus is dead (Mark
Joseph of Arimathea takes the body of Jesus, wraps it in a clean linen
shroud, and places it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock
(Matthew 27:59-60) in a garden near the site of crucifixion.
Welcome to St. Vartan
Armenian Church
If you are a
newcomer to St. Vartan, it is a pleasure to welcome
you to our Good Friday service this evening.
Thank you for making time in your busy schedule to be with us. We believe that you will feel God’s Spirit
and his renewing love among us today 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.
At daybreak the
council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the
law, met together, and Jesus was led before them, “If you are the Christ,” they
said, “tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I
tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not
answer. But from now on, the Son of Man
will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God. They all asked, “Are you then the Son of
God?” He replied, “You are right in saying I am.” Then they said, “Why do we need any more
testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.” Luke
22: 66-71
Days of Holy Week-- Avak Shapat
Holy Week is
the last week of Lent, the week immediately preceding Easter Sunday. The
Armenian Church calls this final week of Christ's life on earth Avak Shapat. During this
time, we share in Christ’s teachings, his suffer-ing,
his death, and his resurrection.
Holy Week
observances call us to move behind the joyful celebrations of Palm Sunday and
Easter, and focus on the suffering, humiliation, and death of Jesus. It is
important to place the hope of the Resurrection, the promise of newness and
life, against the background of death and endings.
It is only in
walking through the shadows and darkness of Holy Week and Good Friday, only in
realizing the horror and magnitude of sin and its consequences in the
world, only in contemplating the ending and despair that the disciples felt on
Holy Saturday, that we can truly understand the light and hope of Sunday
morning.
There are No Shortcuts to Success
Whatever you
want in life, you must give up something to get it. The greater the value, the greater the
sacrifice required of you. Everything
has a price.
There's a price
to pay if you want to make things better, and a price to pay for just leaving
things as they are.
Nothing
worthwhile ever comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only
way to accomplish results that last.
The highway to
success is a toll road. There is no success at bargain basement prices.
FORGIVE everyone everything.
Check It Out
www.stvartan.ca
www.armenianchurch.ca
www.armenianchurch.org
The Heart
The heart is
never “successful.” It does not want power, honours,
privilege, or efficiency; it seeks a personal relationship with another, a
communion of hearts, which is the to-and-fro of love. This opening of the heart
implies vulnerabil-ity and the offering of our needs
and weaknesses. The heart gives and receives but above all, it gives. The heart goes out to those who are humble
and who cry out in their weakness and their need for understanding and love. It
is the human heart and its need for communion that weakens the walls of
ideology and prejudice. It leads us from closedness
to openness, from the illusion of superiority to vulnerabil-ity
and humility.
Becoming Human, Jean Vanier, pp. 63-64.
We should not
compare sufferings. We come together as
a family of God and know that no matter what we’re going through, God knows it,
is with us, and will pull us through. Most important is who I’ve become by the
power of Jesus Christ.
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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.
Good Friday or
Holy Friday
Commemoration of the Passion,
the Crucifixion and
the Burial of our Lord Jesus Christ
The Friday of
Holy Week has traditionally been called Good Friday or Holy Friday. On this day,
the Christian Church commemorates Jesus’ arrest, his trial, suffering and
crucifixion, death, and burial.
Since services
on this day are to observe Jesus’ death, and since Eucharist is a celebration
of thanksgiving, there is traditionally no Holy Communion service on Good
Friday in the
A day of mourning
The service on
Good Friday is aimed at allowing worshippers to experience some sense of the
pain, humiliation, and ending in Jesus’ journey to the cross. It is a series of
Scripture readings, a short homily, and a time of meditation and prayer.
Good Friday is
not a day of celebration but of mourning, both for the death of Jesus and for
the sins of the world that his death represents. Yet, although Friday is a
solemn time, it is not without its own joy. For while it is important to place
the Resurrection against the darkness of Good Friday, likewise the somberness
of Good Friday should always be seen with the hope of Resurrection Sunday.
Friday’s Tomb is Symbol of Death
On Good Friday,
a symbolic tomb of the crucified Jesus Christ is adorned with flowers and thick
branches of evergreen trees with the participation of the faithful. It is
placed in the church on Friday morning and remains there until Saturday
In the afternoon of Holy Saturday, three hours
before the eve of Resurrection, the clergymen undo the wreathed tomb and
distribute the flowers and branches to the faithful.
The sacrament of the divine truth established
by the crucifixion and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ--the Sacrament of
Resurrection, which is considered to be the pledge of man’s salvation and the
basis of Christian faith--is presented to the faithful through this spiritual
tradition, through the symbolic tomb of our Lord.
A bouquet of flowers
The tomb is
considered to be the symbol of death of the human life which fills man’s soul
with fear and anxiety. These feelings grow intense especially in the souls of
those who are devoid of faith in eternal life. Thus, the symbolic tomb which is
used on the commemoration days of the crucifixion and burial of our Lord comes
to restrain the fear and the anxiety, the horror and the disbelief in the souls
of the people. However, this tomb is not considered to be a grave mound or a stone
hill, but a bouquet of flowers and moreover a variegated bouquet of flowers. It
doesn’t convey bad news of death and deprivation but tells us the good news of
eternity and happiness. Everyone who sees the tomb should be reminded of the
prediction of the prophet. When this perishable body puts on imperishability,
and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will
be fulfilled: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (1
Corinthians, 15:54-55). The presence of the symbolic tomb of our Lord during
the Holy Week stands for light, resurrection, life and immortality.
The flowers and
the evergreen branches symbolize the feelings of joy, happiness, as well as
respect, devotion, faith, hope and love which describe any true Christian.
Through
baptism; faith, hope and love which are the beginnings of all the virtues,
flourish in the souls of Christians. Thus, it is necessary to be evergreen in
good deeds, so that the flower of the garden in our souls will never fade and never
lose its sweet smell, so that the living "grave" body of soul won’t
become a pit. Like the Lord’s symbolic tomb which is wreathed with the flowers
of different colours, every Christian must be
decorated with various virtuous deeds and charity.
Christians aren’t made - they are in
the making.
What Jesus said on the Cross
Adapted from an article by Curtis
Peter Van Gorder
Everything that
Jesus said on the cross was a different expression of his love. His words still move people today.
Love for Enemies
“Father forgive them
for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:24
How could Jesus
say that any of these people didn’t know what they were doing? To a certain degree they had to, but they
didn’t realize the enormity of what they were doing—that they were killing the
Son of God.
In asking his
Father to forgive those who had turned on him and those who had carried out his
execution, Jesus actually spoke in their defense, and in so doing proved in the
most powerful way possible that he believed what he had taught: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse
you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you
and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44. Now he wants us to have that much love, that
much forgiveness.
Love for Sinners
“Today you will
be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
Jesus spoke
these words to the repentant thief who was crucified beside him. Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness still changes
people today.
Love for Family and Friends
“Behold your
son!...Behold your Mother!” John 19:26-27
Jesus spoke
these words to his mother and to John, the closest of his disciples, as he looked down
on them from the cross. Jesus understood
the void that the end of his earthly life would leave in each of theirs, and that
they could each help fill that void for the other. Jesus loved them so much that even in the
midst of his most trying hour, he saw the needs of his loved ones and did
something about it. Thereafter, John
cared for Mary as his own mother, and Mary loved John as her own son.
Jesus Needs Our Love
“I
thirst!” John 19:28
At a centre for
the handicapped that is run by the Missionaries of Charity, the Catholic order
that Mother Teresa founded, a large banner on the wall reads, “I thirst!” Asked why they had chosen these two last
words of Jesus, one of the sisters explained.
“That cry of Christ has become our rallying cry. Mother Teresa said, “His thirst is without
end. He, the Creator of all, pleads for
the love of his creation. He thirsts for
our love. These words, ‘I thirst!’ do they not echo in our souls?”
Love for God
“My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew
27:46
What caused
Jesus the greatest agony on the cross was not our sins, because he knew that we
were going to be forgiven and saved.
What broke his heart was thinking that his Father had turned his back on
him. Jesus went through an experience
that, thank God, we will never have to go through—not just crucifixion, not
just the agony of the body, but the agony of mind and spirit, feeling that God
had actually deserted him. Had God
forsaken him? Yes, momentarily, that he
might die the death of a sinner, without God.
“Jesus took upon himself the sins of the whole world on the cross.” 1
Peter
Love for You and Me
“It is
finished!” John 19:30
What was it
that he finished? On the same evening
that Jesus hung on the cross, the Passover lamb was being sacrificed. Like the blood of the lamb saved the Hebrew
people from destruction in
Love’s Reward
“Father into
your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke
23:46
Jesus, help us
to trust our lives to you and live to please you, like you trusted your life to
the Father and lived to please him. Then
what a day of rejoicing that will be when we see you face-to-face and enter
into our heavenly reward—eternal life and love with you and the Father!
Planning Underway for
If you would
like to participate in the planning of St. Vartan’s
Armenia Pavilion at Carassauga 2008, please contact
Chairman Vasken Altounian.
More volunteers
are always needed for this annual multicultural festival in the City of
Clouds in our lives are sent to
bring showers of blessings.
Please Turn Off
Your Cell Phone
Please turn off
your cell phone when you are at church, out of courtesy for your fellow faithful
and respect for the holiness of the Soorp Badarak.
March-April
2008 Schedule
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
Soorp
Badarak
Soorp
Badarak
Soorp
Badarak
Easter Service
We hope to see
you at our next Soorp Badarak at