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: info@armenianorthodoxchurch.org
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

ANTELIAS PILGRIMAGE DAY

ARMENIAN FAITHFUL BLESSED WITH THE HOLY RELIC OF SAINT GREGORY THE
ILLUMINATOR

The pilgrimage day in Antelias becomes an opportunity for a long-awaited
meeting every year between the faithful and the Holy Right Hand of Saint
Gregory the Illuminator. Our people once again experienced this unique
moment on March 9, when the Catholicosate of Cilicia was filled with a large
number of the faithful who had come to commemorate the beginning of Saint
Gregory the Illuminator’s imprisonment in Khor Virab.

His Holiness Aram I presided over the Holy Mass held in Antelias on the
occasion of the Pilgrimage Day. The Prelate of the Western Prelacy of
Northern America, Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian officiated the mass and
delivered the sermon. The Catholicosate’s "Shenorhali" choir sang the hymns
under guidance from artistic director Zakar Keshishian. While both the bells
of the Mother Church were being tolled during "Havadamk", the Pontifical
procession started marching from the Veharan, led by Cilician Brotherhood
members carried the box in which the Holy Relic of Saint Gregory the
Illuminator is placed. The silver-coated Relic consists of a bone from the
right hand of the Patron Saint of the Armenian Church.

In his Sermon, Archbishop Mardirossian first spoke about the life and
dedication of the Greatest Saint of the Armenian nation starting from his
years as a young teen when he was rescued from a vengeful Armenian king and
taken to Kayseri, where he received Christian education. Recounting the
historical chronicles, the Archbishop talked about the great conversion of
the Armenian nation to Christianity following the efforts of the Saint.
Finally, he prayed to God to keep the Catholicosate of Cilicia strong and
for peace in our Lebanese homeland.

Following the mass, a large procession of the Cilician Brotherhood members,
priests and Seminary students carrying several Holy Relics made a round tour
around the Mother Church led by Catholicos Aram I. During the procession,
elderly faithful with awful tears and children with innocent smiles kissed
the Holy Right Hand of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, presenting their
wishes to God and relying on the prayers of the Great Saint. When the
procession returned to the Mother Church, the Pontiff and the religious
class went up the Altar, where the ceremonious service of water blessing was
held with the Right Hand of Saint Gregory the Illuminator. The Catholicos
blessed the faithful with the Holy Right Hand of the Patron Saint.

The Catholicos recited the "Paradya" prayer for curing the ill and a special
prayer for the strengthening of faith. It said: "We, your pilgrim sons, oh
Saint Gregory, the great pilgrim of God, appeal to you from the Cathedral of
the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias. Oh Illuminating Pontiff, bless our
nation in Armenia and the Diaspora under your Holy Right Hand. Bless in
particular, your pilgrim people gathered in the Mother Church in Antelias.
Erase our sins, cleanse our spiritual and physical faults; grant health to
the sick; enlighten the dark paths of our life; flourish with heavenly goods
the life of our nation’s children, our families and our Big Family, the life
of your honorable people for the brightness of the Holy Armenian Apostolic
and Orthodox Church and for the eternity of the Armenian nation."

After the water blessing service, the Holy Right Hand of Saint Gregory the
Illuminator was placed on the main Altar under the watchful eyes of Cilician
Brotherhood members. Armenian and foreign faithful visited the Catholicosate
until 8:00 OM in the evening to kiss the Relic. After Atchahampouyr, the
faithful also visited the Holy Trinity Altar, kneeling before the Relic of
Saint Gregory the Illuminator and praying to God in this sacred area.

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View the photos here:
c/Photos/Photos208.htm
http://www.armenianorthodox church.org/v04/doc/Photos/Photos209.htm
*****
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.