PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: cathcil@cathcil.org
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
ST. ASDVADZADZINE MARKED IN BIKFAYA AND ANTELIAS
As it has become a tradition, the St. Asdvadzadzine Day was marked by a
special evening service in Bikfaya on August 13. Bishop Kegham Khatcherian
conducted the Holy Mass on the outdoor altar and the believers sung the
hymns under directions from Fr. Bartev Gulumian.
The 20 intellectuals, academics and politicians who had arrived in Lebanon
to participate in the conference organized by the Catholicosate of Cilicia
also attended the mass.
The Catholicosate of Cilicia has announced the St. Asdvadzadzine Day to be a
pilgrimage day for the Monastery in Bikfaya ever since the chapel was built
in 1952. A large number of believers attend the mass and the blessing of
grape every year.
His Holiness Aram I conducted the blessing of the grape and said special
prayers written by Nerses Shenorhali. Aram I then delivered a sermon
emphasizing the concept of a promise made to God and its fulfillment through
honest prayers.
“Mary, the Mother of God, has been with us everywhere, not only in churches,
but also in our homes, among our families. Armenian mothers looked up to her
and made this supreme example of motherhood their ideal. She loved and
educated her children with the love of Mary and gave them Christian
education,” said His Holiness.
His Holiness greeted the intellectuals who participated in the
Armenia-Diaspora cooperation conference. He emphasized the importance of
giving a new momentum to cooperation between Armenia and the Diaspora.
“One should stay away from side profits and stick to values. Second, a pan
Armenian mentality and approach should be adopted in order to build
cooperation between the two sides on a strong basis. Third, the Armenian
nation should be considered as being above all personal profits and gains
and higher than any positions or seats,” said His Holiness.
“This is what the Catholicosate of Cilicia has believed and this is how it
has acted. This house belongs to everyone, it belongs to our entire nation
and every single Armenian has duties towards it.”
His Holiness called on all Armenians, starting from the Armenian government
to the worldwide leaders of Armenian communities to adopt a pan Armenian
approach to issues and consider the collective gains to be above personal
profits.
A youth gathering and a musical conference with performance by Lebanese
Armenian musician Guy Manoukian were held in outside the Monastery on the
evening of August 12. The youth department of the Catholicosate had
organized a youth march/pilgrimage from Antelias to Bikfaya the same day.
Bishop Nareg Alemezian conducted Holy Mass and delivered a sermon in the St.
Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias on August 14 on the occasion
of the St. Asdvadzadzine Day. The bishop presented the Virgin Mary as a role
model, for obeying God and the important role she played in God’s plan to
save humanity. A blessing of grapes was conducted after the Holy Mass.
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View pictures here:
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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.