Curtain – epostle

Armodoxy for Today: Muiron participation through a Curtain

The Blessing of Holy Muiron is an event that brings together blessings from the centuries – from the time of Christ – to the present, and in that present we – you and I – stand. As we heard the “noises from the ridge” (yesterday’s lesson), the members of the here and now – you and I – are now part of the living history of the Church.

Several years ago, while I was serving as Parish Priest of the Armenian Church Youth Ministries Center in Glendale, a generous individual donated a new altar curtain to the church. It was ornate and donned two large, embroidered crosses. The curtain we were using had served us well since the time we installed it when we first opened the center. It was made of a heavy upholstery-type material, in a nice dark royal red shade.

When vestments, or items used for the Sacraments, have reached their end-of-life cycle, ordinarily they are disposed of by burning them. But the weight of this curtain was measured by much more than the fabric from which it was made. For ten years it had collected the smoke of the incense and the candles, but its true weight came from the thousands of prayers that had been offered around it. They were filled with the prayers of a community of immigrants who, having come to this new land, shared their thanksgiving as well as disappointments, their fears and their strengths, their faith and their doubts, in conversations with Christ. The prayers of repentant hearts, who knowing their wrongs had turned for forgiveness in a spirit of, “As we forgive those who trespass against us.” This curtain was much too heavy to burn!

The next day, I put out a call to all available sewing machines and their owners to come to the church. A dozen or so ladies arrived with sharp scissors in their hands, sewing machines in tow, and a love for their fellow human being. They cut up the curtain and sewed the edges. The curtain would now live on as individual blankets for our homeless population – the least of our brothers and sisters on the streets. We went down to Los Angeles’ “skid row” and passed out these blankets filled with prayers and incense, knowing the recipients would be comforted and sheltered by a powerful force. And we had the satisfaction of knowing that night, there were homeless individuals walking around the streets as royalty, donning the Armenian Church curtain as a cape and would later fall asleep in its comfort.

Objects carry blessings, manifesting the power of the Holy Spirit. The curtain transferred blessings to the indigents on the streets. The priest holds a cross in his hand and blesses a family or a grave. The woman touches the hem of Jesus’ robe and is healed. (Matt. 9) Jesus makes a paste with his saliva and “anoints the eyes of the blind man with the clay,” and he sees. (John 9). Bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Muiron is the oil which carries the blessings of the Holy Spirit.

Today’s prayer comes to us from the sharagan – the hymn of the Armenian Church dedicated to the Holy Spirit: Source of light, distributor of graces, O Spirit, who has come down from on high. You have divided Your incorruptible gifts among the apostles. May I be worthy to receive the same. Amen.

Read an article by the Very Rev. Fr. Zaven Arzoumanian about: A Blessed Fate of the Blessed Curtain

It was 20 years ago today:

Between the years 2003 and 2016 we ran an experiment in an area of Glendale, California known as “Ground Zero,” a place that Armenian organizations had ignored and forgotten, a place where education, identity and prayer came together.

These are the untold stories from the Armenian Church Youth Ministries Center.

Today’s Episode: Jesus Blankets

The Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church is truly a holistic experience engaging all of your senses. The melodies of the hymns captivate the ear (when sung properly). The vestments and shiny brass dance before the eyes. The olfactory senses are alerted with the frankincense. Greeting one another with the “Holy Kiss” calls our touch and feel into play. And of course, the culmination of the Liturgy comes with tasting the Holy and Precious Body and Blood of our Savior. Five of the carnal senses are at play every Sunday in our churches, and many other senses that we feel but shy away from defining. They are all real in the church, though they may not be seen, like the stars that are all around us during bright sunlight.

When we first built our altar area at the Youth Ministry Center we used a very heavy fabric for the curtain. It was a red velvety material with golden colored ropes and brocades. For our little church on the corner it was truly a majestic accent to the otherwise humble offerings around us in the church. It was also fairly difficult to open and close since it resided on a circular metal rod that had to be supported with extra garters because of the weight of the massive curtain. The deacons often pulled and pulled, sometimes in an awkward display of physical energy in front of the congregation. After a couple of years and a few hundred jerks and tugs at the garment, the curtain was showing wear and tear.

One of the members of the church donated new fabric for a lightweight curtain to be sewn. It arrived shortly after the order was place. We decorated the expanse of the curtain with beautiful cross brocades. Most importantly, now the curtain could easily be opened and shut with minimal effort.

While everyone was excited with the new arrival to our church, I had to figure out what to do with the old curtain. I knew old vestments had to be burnt and I figured the same was true of this huge curtain. Through the years, the curtain had absorbed the incense, smoke and prayers of thousands of faithful people whose cares and difficulties were expressed in prayer before this holy altar. The curtain was sacred and could not be put out for curbside pickup. I contemplated a huge bonfire in front of the church, inviting the neighborhood and community for a sacred burning, but the hassle of getting permits from the City of Glendale, which was already annoyed by our presence there, made it easy to opt out of that choice.

That week, during our homeless feed, we were going through the streets of LA’s “skid row” when it hit me! The curtain could be divided into several blankets for our homeless brothers and sisters! And a project was born!

Several women from the Ministry brought over their sewing machines, others brought sewing shears, irons and manual labor. The church was converted into a sewing factor. I swear that there was music playing in the church that day, but I know it was a happy hum of the ladies doing what they knew was right.

They sewed and manufactured 50 blankets from fabric that smelled like incense and the housed the hopes, dreams, prayers and answers of the thousands. These Armenian gifts of hope were cleaned, wrapped and delivered to the residents of the street, with a small note of explanation and a prayer by St. Nersess Shnorhali. It came with the compliments of one group of people who were once homeless, to another group, that they might find hope for a better future.

On our weekly trips through skid row I would keep my eyes open to see if I would spot someone wearing or wrapped up in a piece of curtain or donning it like a cape. I thought what a beautiful expression of Jesus’ command to clothe the naked, to have a person walking the streets with an Armenian curtain, now turned blanket.

I never saw pieces of the curtain again, a tragic reminder as to how large the homeless population is in the City of Angels. That winter, I was sure that there were at least 50 people snug in a sacred blanket unlike any other. From an apostolic era church, the love of Christ was shared on the streets. It was one small miracle that came from the Armenian Church Youth Ministry Center.

Join me tomorrow as we continue with more stories of faith and miracles that were, 20 years ago today.