St. Vartan
Armenian Apostolic
Vol. 1 No. 17 May 4, 2008
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Second Palm Sunday
Yergrort Dzaghgazart
Christ remained
on earth for 40 days after His Resurrection (Acts 1:3). He spent this time
giving final instructions to his 11 disciples and telling them to go out into
the world and share his teachings and God’s promise of eternal life. This past Thursday (May 17), we observed the
Feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ (Hampartzoom
Dyarn).This feast celebrates the Ascension of Christ
with His resurrected and glorified body to heaven.
The week days
after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost (inclusive) are a
preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is the gift
promised by Jesus to his apostles. It is
a time when we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension. Pentecost Sunday
commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit, the beginning of the Church founded
by Jesus Christ, and its mission to every people and nation.
Act
Today, we
celebrate the Second Palm Sunday, called thus because the gospel readings of
Sunday recall Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem (on Palm Sunday).The
Sunday which succeeds Ascension has no special feast, but in the order of days
falls on the 43rd day of Eastertide and 4th day of Ascension. It has been given
the designation Second Palm Sunday simply on the basis of the lection of the
day.
There has been
assigned to that day also a national commemoration, based on a tradition which
states that an angel who had been making daily visits to St. Gregory in Khor Virap, having failed to come
on Ascension day, explained to the Illuminator that each one of the angelic
ranks held a celebration in honour of Christ's
Ascension; therefore as a member of the fourth rank, he had not wanted to be
absent from the observance.This martyrophile
tradition has become commingled with the hymns of the day.
The Second Palm
Sunday is movable within an interval of 35 days from May 3 to June 6. The two
Fridays following Ascension and one Wednesday became days of abstinence from
foods, leaving the dominical feast unchan-ged in the
Church. See p. 2, Blessing of the
Welcome to St. Vartan
Armenian Church
Welcome to our Soorp Badarak this afternoon. Thank you for taking the time to pray and
worship with us. We believe that you
will feel God’s Spirit and his renewing love among us, as we come together as a
community to give him glory.
Divine Liturgy @
Daily Scripture
1 John 5:13-211
John 12:12-23
May 2008 Schedule
Soorp
Badarak
Soorp
Badarak
Carassauga
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.
Blessing the
Today, Very
Rev. Fr. Hayr Hayrik will
bless the four corners of the world, symbolized by the central part (adyan) of the church. First he will bless the east (which
represents
The ceremony of
blessing the four corners of the earth is conducted on the following
feasts: Palm Sunday (in the morning and
in the evening); Easter; Second Palm Sunday; Apparition of the Holy Cross;
Universal Church of Holy Etchmiadzin;
Transfiguration; Assumption of the Holy Mother of God; Exaltation of the Cross;
Octave of Easter (New Sunday); Red Sunday; Presentation of the Lord to the
Temple (in the evening); Sunday of the World Church (Green Sunday); and on the
morning of Pentecost.
Jesus replied,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth,
unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single
seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will
lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for
eternal life. Whoever serves me must
follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the
one who serves me. John 12:23-26
A Story of Two Horses
There is a
field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each horse looks like any other
horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something
quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is
blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home
for him.
If you stand
nearby, you will hear the sound of a bell and see that it comes from the
smaller horse in the field. Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell. It
lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.
As you watch
these two horses, you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on
the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then
slowly walk to where the other horse is, trusting that
he will not be led astray.
When the horse
with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops
occasionally and looks back, making sure the blind friend isn't too far behind
to hear the bell.
Like the owners
of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect
or because we have problems or challenges. He watches over us and even brings
others into our lives to help us when we are in need.
Sometimes we
are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God
places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find
their way.
Q. How should I prepare for
celebrating the Divine Liturgy?
We prepare
ourselves both mentally and spiritually. The custom of the Armenian Church
is to fast from all food and drink, from the time we wake up on Sunday morning
until we have received Holy Communion. This helps us focus on the
spiritual nourishment we receive in communion. Exceptions are made for
those who are ill. Spiritual preparation includes prayer. To
participate fully in the Soorp Badarak, we should
devote at least 15 minutes of quiet time with God, either on Saturday night or
Sunday morning.
What Does God Look Like?
When I was very
little and my family would go to church, my parents would take me to the
nursery, kiss me, and hand me to Mrs. Eickmeyer. Then
they would tell me to learn all I could about God.
I liked Mrs. Eickmeyer very much. She had a big, wooden box full of
toys. She told me stories about Jesus and gave me graham crackers. We had a
great time. The only problem was, for years after that, I always thought that
God looked like her. How was I supposed to know that Mrs. Eickmeyer
wasn’t God?
Truth is, God the Father is invisible. He is a spirit. So God sent
us Jesus, his Son - so we would know what he is like. And Jesus is all anyone
needed to learn about God. The more we know and love Jesus, the more we know
and love God.
Want to know
something else? The more you and I love and obey Jesus, the more we begin to
look like him! And the more we begin to be like God. I’m not kidding. I think
that’s the way it was with Mrs. Eickmeyer. Maybe God
didn’t look very much like her, but to me, she looked a lot like God.
Who Made
God? by Larry
Libby, 2002.
Meet our pastor
Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan
905-916-1886 905-617-7888
stvartan@hotmail.com
The Ten Commandments are not a multiple choice.
Check it out!
www.stvartan.ca
www.armenianchurch.ca
Love is a divine gift and
should not be held back.
Jan Karon
Are You On
Our Mailing List
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or are you planning a move? 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.
God of all comfort, our only help in
time of need, be present in your goodness with
us. Amen.
A Prayer
Give us your
wisdom, we pray, to do what is just, what is healing, what is needed and what
is your will. By the power of your Holy Spirit, we ask that you give us
discernment and soften our hearts toward one another and toward you, dear Lord.
We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
One:
One historic year.
One cataclysmic event.
One unforgettable bleak memory.
One ominous political concept.
One people
almost annihilated.
One blood-stained colour.
One orphan
child,
And then
another,
And another…
Somehow, a
nation survives.
One extended
family grows.
One searing
memory penetrates to the bone.
One horrific
deed now a people’s defining identity.
One people unable and unwilling to forget.
One terrible
deed,
And endless nightmares.
We do not
forget that one historic year.
One
catastrophic event that defines who I am,
And who I always will be.
Now and forever.
Ancestral Voices, Alan Whitehorn, 2007.
April 25 Armenian Genocide Memorial
Service
We Must Not be Indifferent to
Genocide of Others, Speaker Says
Although 1915
is a long time ago, sadly, it still bears its bitter fruit, said Prof. Alan Whitehorn, guest speaker at an ecumenical Memorial Service
held April 25 at St. Vartan Armenian Church of
An
Armenian-Canadian author and professor of political science at the Royal
Military College (RMC) in
He said his
Armenian mother grew up in
Prof. Whitehorn said being a distinctive minority makes it easier
for groups to be portrayed as less human and to be treated as aliens by
others. This happened to the Armenians
in World War I, to the European Jews in World War II, to the Tutsis in
“The genocide
victim suffers in ways that others cannot fully comprehend,” he said. “If the wounds of a people are to begin to
heal, they need the help of others.”
Indifference is a sin
Indifference is
a sin, and there must be acknowledgement of what took place. “We need to challenge genocide deniers, even
if it means threats to ourselves,” said Prof. Whitehorn. “We need to speak up and add our voices, in
place of those who have been brutally silenced decades ago.”
He said the
past can serve as a warning to all people in the world and we must not stand by
as genocide is repeated.
“The orphans of
Prof. Whitehorn has written many articles, chapters and even
poetry on the Armenian genocide, including the book The Armenian Genocide: Resisting the Inertia of Indifference which
he coauthored with fellow RMC professor Lorne Shirinian. He autographed and sold copies of Ancestral
Voices, a collection of his poems that deals with multi-ethnic identity in the
Armenian Diaspora and describes a voyage to his ancestral homeland of
The Nayiri Armenian Choir of Toronto, led by Choirmaster Sarkis Hamboyan, with organist
Lena Yozgadlian-Nahas and soloist Movses
Hayitian,
performed three Armenian choral pieces.
They were: Fatherland’s Agony by
Alexander Haroutunyan; and O Lord, Help Us and Der Voghormia by Komitas.
Poem by Sirarpi
Mouchian
St. Vartan’s choir member Sirarpi Mouchian recited, in Armenian and in English, a poem she
had written on the Armenian Genocide, titled Memories. The poem was based on her mother’s stories
about the Armenian Genocide.
St. Vartan Sunday School students Haig
Altounian, and Ania and
Alisa Ermarkaryan read William Saroyan’s
famous words on the survival of the Armenians, then
received a lit torch from Krikor Mouchian
and Sargavak Ara Siroonian. The
children carried the torch through the church, symbolic of the responsibility
of the youth to carry on the spiritual, cultural and national life of their
people.
“We say, ‘Never
Again’,” declared Hayr Hayrik in conclusion.
“As Armenians, we belong to our nation, to humanity and to God.”
We look for visions of
heaven and we never dream that all the time God is in the common-place things
and people around us.
Oswald Chambers
To Look Good
Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important
May God bless and keep you and your
family.
Volunteers Needed for Carassauga 2008
If you would
like to be a volunteer at St. Vartan’s Armenia
Pavilion for Carassauga 2008, please contact
Christine Ermarkaryan at (905) 825-5299 or
cermarkaryan@cogeco.ca ; or Katie Shahinian at (905)
785-7626 or cshahinian@sympatico.ca.
Volunteers are always needed for this annual multicultural festival in
the City of
When You Say…
When you say…
“I can’t solve this…”
God tells you,
“I will direct your path.” Proverbs
3:5-6
When you say…
“It’s impossible…”
God tells you,
“Everything is possible.” Luke 18:27
When you say…
“I feel all alone…”
God tells you,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
When you
say… “I can’t do it…”
God tells you,
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
When you say…
“I don’t deserve forgiveness.”
God tells you,
“I have forgiven you.” 1 John 1:9 – Romans 8:1
When you say…
“I am afraid…”
God tells you,
“Do not fear, for I am with you; I will strengthen you and help you.” Isaiah 41:10
When you say…
“I am tired…”
God tells you,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28-30
When you say…
“No one really loves me…”
God tells you, “I love you.” John
When you say…
“I don’t know how to go on…”
God tells you,
“I will show you the path.” Psalm 32:8
When you say…
“What path does God have for me?”
God tells you,
“My beloved son Jesus Christ.” 1Timothy 2:5, Acts
And when you
want to know everything else that God wants to tell you… Read the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:15-17
Next Service
We hope to see
you at our next Soorp Badarak at
St. Vartan
Children’s Armenian Camp
To sign up for
the two-week summer camp (July 14-18; July 21-25), for children four and up, or to be a counsellor or volunteer, contact Christine Ermarkar-yan at 905-825-5299.