Now that the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother of God, Asdvadzadzin, has passed I share with you this fascinating story that connects all Christians who are baptized and confirmed in the Armenian Church.
When the Asdvadzadzin passed away, all of the Apostles except for the Apostle Bartholomew were in Jerusalem and attended her funeral service. When Bartholomew returned to Jerusalem and was informed of Mother Mary’s passing, he requested to see the Blessed remains one last time. When they opened her tomb to honor Bartholomew’s request, her body was not there. She was assumed into Heaven by her Son. Hence the word “Assumption” is used to describe Asdvadzadzin’s entrance into Heaven. It differs from the Resurrection, which was a singular event, where in Jesus, on His own power, resurrected. In the case of St. Mary, she was assumed into Heaven.
There is a short apocryphal story which follows. During Jesus’ infancy, scripture tells us many events took place and “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) When Jesus’ umbilical cord fell off, Mary placed it in an alabaster box and kept it with her through the years. When Bartholomew came to pay his respects to Holy Mother’s life, he was given the box, which he kept close to his heart.
In the fourth decade A.D., Bartholomew came to Armenia to preach the Gospel. He was martyred in Armenia for his faith in and commitment to Jesus Christ. Before he was executed, he was able pass along the small alabaster box to the members of the underground Church in Armenia. The box and its content, the umbilical cord of our Lord, were secretly kept by the Church until the Conversion of Armenia in the year 301 A.D. by St. Gregory the Illuminator. At that time the box was turned over to Gregory who had ascended to the Apostolic Throne as chief bishop. Gregory consecrated the first batch of Holy Miuron at that time and added the remains of the umbilical cord to the first miuron. This Holy Chrism, which is used for consecration of the faithful, priests, bishops and holy sites, is renewed every seven years. In each new batch, the previous batch is added, meaning there are molecules in the Holy Miuron from the time of Jesus Christ!
This is year there will be a blessing of the Holy Miuron. In the coming episodes we will share the mystery of the Holy Miuron with our listeners.
We pray today, Mary’s Song, referred to as the Magnificat, in Armenian, Medzastzudzeh. My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_9877-scaled.jpeg18182560Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-08-19 00:01:162024-08-18 22:15:07Alabaster Box with the Umbilical Cord
One of the sacred traditions of the Armenian Church is the preparation and blessing of the Holy Miuron (Chrism). It is done with much fanfare and grandeur, once every seven years. Holy Miuron was scheduled to be blessed this year, 2023, on October 1.
The process of blessing begins forty days earlier. That special ceremony took place presided by His Holiness, Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The base of the Miuron is olive oil and the essence of 40 different fragrant flowers. Just as this, the mixture, was absorbing the prayers, hymns, incense and the energy of Holy Etchmiadzin, the spiritual center of the Armenian Church, the Azeris fired on the innocent civilians of Artsakh, prompting the Blessing of Muiron to be postponed.
At the blessing of Holy Miuron, the holy relics of the saints are brought out of their sacred spaces within monasteries, to the altar table of Holy Etchmiadzin, along with the sacred Geghard, the Holy Lance that pierced the side of Our Lord Jesus on the Cross (John 19). The Holy Miuron is mystical and powerful. It unites us to Christ and the History of the Holy Church. It is used to christen individuals into the Church, to consecrate clergy and buildings into the sacred service of the Holy Church. It is the life blood of the Church.
This year, the body of Armenian Church, took a major hit. A large portion of that body, namely Artsakh, was cut off of the Body. Understandably, the life blood, the Holy Miuron, would need to strengthen. With the postponement of this year’s blessing, His Holiness, the Catholicos, has ordered the holy relics of the saints and the Holy Geghard to be brought to Etchmiadzin’s Holy Altar during this most difficult time, to console the people with a special blessing.
This Sunday, October 1, has been designated at an International Day of Prayer for Artsakh and the Artsakh Armenians who now seek refuge as their land is occupied and they are exiled from their homes. A Day of Prayer is a call to the children of the Church to focus on God as their only hope. This is our opportunity to return to our roots and understand the true power of God to work His miracles through each of us.
We at Epostle.net will be simulcasting the ancient Armenian Divine Liturgy from the St. Leon Ghevondyants Armenian Cathedral with English commentary. Please join us for a live stream at 10:30AM Pacific Daylight Time, on October 1, that’s Coordinated Universal Time -7 at Epostle.net.
Today we conclude with Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/23.08.11.jpg393532Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2023-09-29 00:01:092023-09-28 21:00:38Oil to Prayer, Miuron
It was 20 years ago today: Untold stories of the Armenian Church Youth Ministries Center
Today’s Episode: Kharizmah!
The 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” popularized the phrase, “If you build it, they will come.” It was a magical film, as the saying might imply. Voices were telling the Kevin Costner character that “If you build it, he will come,” referring to Shoeless Joe Jackson of Chicago Black Sox fame.
The truth is, it takes more than a building, it takes more than a location and more than a personality to bring people together. And then, it takes even more to keep the people there. That “more” is what we call in the Church, the Power of the Holy Spirit, or what sometimes might be referred to as “charisma” Dr. Dekmejian would call it out with its Greek inflection, “kharizmah” (χάρισμα).
Dr. Deacon Hrair Dekmejian, who was my mentor going into this project and a co-founder of the Youth Ministries, was a professor of Political Science at the University of Southern California. He had studied theology and graduated Columbia University with his Ph.D. He was well versed in the history and development of the Church, and possessed an encyclopedic knowledge about the Armenian Church liturgies. He was recognized for his humility and led the choir accordingly. He’d often spoke about the kharizmah and we probably didn’t understand it well at first but as the years went on it sunk in as we started seeing miracle after miracle unfold. The word itself has a few meanings, including a favor with which one receives without any merit of his own, the gift of divine grace. This would fall into the understanding of agape love often discussed by Christian theologians. But the one definition of kharizmah which Dekemejian pointed to was the graces or gifts denoting extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit.
We realized early on, that if this Youth Ministry Center was to be effective, life-changing, and have an impact on the young people, it wouldn’t be by ordinary or conventional means.
We opened on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2003, to a packed house. We had clergy, dignitaries and locals all assembled with a basic curiosity of what was happening. We were convinced that, if we had a product (think of the Field of Dreams quote), people would support it. Maria Hamparian, a friend and capable organizer came on board to handle donations and ensure that the program would be funded and sustained. She stayed on as the financial officer for all our projects and shared her talents with and at the Center diligently to the end.
That day, I spoke as did Mr. Mehrabian and our then Primate, Archbishop Vatché Hovsepian, of blessed memory. It was a get acquainted moment. People came up to me and shared their concerns for the youth. This was an area that Armenian organizations wrote-off and ignored. In Armenian, there is a phrase we became familiar all too quickly, “Chaylami hokepanutiun” (=Ostrich psychology) – Stick your head in the sand and your problems disappear. Armenian organizations didn’t want to deal with the reality of Armenian gangs, drugs, drug addictions, suicide, domestic and outright violence and the worst problem of all, materialism and the conviction that it was a solution to their problems. Yes, this would require kharismah. We announced that the first Divine Liturgy would be celebrated on that Holy Thursday, four days later. Remembering the monumental work in front of us, I wanted the first Liturgy to correspond with the feast of the Lord’s Last Supper.
Everything was in place for the opening. From the palm crosses to the decorations on the altar, from the curtain to the oil lamp, everything was glistening. It was a very humble offering of everyone who participated. For instance, the pews were well-worn and in need of refinishing. Mr. Mehrabian had them all taken to his Kia dealership, where they were sanded and painted dark brown in their body shop, and returned for the opening. Every part of this building reflected that type of donation which came from the heart.
What was left? The Vemkar. The Divine Liturgy can only be celebrated on a consecrated altar. In the event there isn’t one, a vemkar, a consecrated stone, is placed on the table and the chalice and the Holy Sacrament are consecrated atop it. Throughout history, when Armenians have defended themselves against enemies, they have gone into battle armed with the Body and Blood of Christ. On the battlefields, a vemkar is used. How appropriate, I thought, we were going into battle against some of the nastiest evils of our times – drugs, violence, materialism – and we would begin with a Liturgy celebrated on a vemkar.
Archbishop Vatché obliged us by consecrating a flat marker stone carved with a cross on it. Until the church was consecrated the following year, we celebrated the Holy Badarak atop that vemkar. The stone was consecrated with Holy Miuron, or chrism. It is a holy oil made of the essence of 40 different fragrant flowers and is renewed every seven years by the Catholicos. He blesses it with the Holy relic containing the bone of St. Gregory the Illuminator’s Right hand, with the Holy Gevart, the actual spear that lanced the side of Jesus on the Cross as recorded in the Gospel of John (19:33-34) and added to mix is miuron from the previous batch. In other words, there are molecules in the muiron from the time of the Illuminator and in fact, from the time of Jesus Christ, but that explanation we will save for another time. We now had a vemkar that connected this church on the corner with the history of the Armenian Church and Armenian people.
It all came together nicely, and as one of the earliest miracles of the Ministry we shared the Holy Body and Blood of Christ with the new congregants of this small church on the corner. We lived only with hope that we were arming ourselves with the right weaponry, the love and power of Christ, as we began the Armenian Church Youth Ministry.
We continue tomorrow with more untold stories from 20 years ago today and invite you to join us. If you missed earlier episodes, you may hear them on your favorite podcatcher or at Epostle.net under the “Armodoxy for Today” tab. Remember to leave a comment and/or write us at feedback@epostle.net.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/body-blood-scaled.jpg25601920Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2023-04-20 00:01:132023-04-20 14:22:5620 years ago: Kharizmah!
