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:
THE WASHING OF FEET AND CRUCIFIXION SERVICES: A SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
The services marking the last week of the Great Lent and the events of
Jesus Christ’s last week on earth are the most festive services of the
Armenian Church in terms of their rituals. On the Thursday of this week in
particular, three consecutive services are held: Holy Mass, the Washing of
Feet and Crucifixion.
A large number of faithful attended the Holy Mass held in the St. Gregory
the Illuminator Cathedral on the morning of April 5.
The Washington of Feet service, an example of unbounded Godly humility
that calls on men to modesty and tolerance, was conducted by His Holiness
Aram I in the afternoon. Wearing an apron, the Pontiff washed the feet of 12
Seminary students representing the 12 apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Catholicos then delivered a sermon, considering the message of the
story as the basis of human society. "Humility is the prerequisite of love,
harmony and peace. God’s humility to even wash the feet of his apostles is a
moral lesson to men of all times," he said. The faithful took with them
blessed oil to mix with the oil they use at home with the hope of spreading
God’s blessings over their homes.
Later in the evening, starting with 7 PM and till late at night, the
Cathedral of Antelias was again filled with faithful, and mostly the
Armenian youth, who attended the service of the "Evening of weeping". V.
Rev. Shahe Panossian delivered the sermon on Jesus Christ’s crucifixion,
talking about his sacrifice for the world.
The Cilician Brotherhood Members read the seven sections of the Gospel,
during which following Armenian tradition, the faithful made seven knots on
a piece of strong to wear on their wrists the strength of God’s prayers
until Ascension.
After the "Bahbanich" prayers said by His Holiness and the blessings by
the Cross, with a relic from the original Cross of our Lord, the faithful
went home late in the evening, renewed with the legacy of Good Thursday.
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View the photos here: