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Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: +374-10-517163
Fax: +374-10-517301
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September 18, 2008
His Holiness Karekin II Blesses Ingredients for the Holy Muron
Sunday, September 14, was the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross –
one of the five major feast days of the Armenian Church. This year, the day
was also significant, as it played an important role in the preparations
leading up to the Blessing of the Holy Muron (Chrism), scheduled to take
place in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on Sunday, September 28.
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,
presided during the Divine Liturgy celebrated in the Mother Cathedral in the
morning. In the evening, following vespers, His Holiness presided during
the `Andastan’ service, wherein the Catholicos, bishops, priests, deacons
and faithful processed around the Cathedral with the reliquary containing an
actual piece of the Holy Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The
Andastan service also includes the blessing of the four corners of the world
on this festive day. The service is noted by the blessing of basil and the
sprinkling of rosewater on the faithful.
At the conclusion of the Andastan service, the procession of clergy and
faithful moved from the courtyard of the Mother Cathedral to the garden of
the Old Pontifical Residence, where the service of blessing the ingredients
that will comprise the Holy Muron was offered. As Holy Scripture was read,
prayers intoned and hymns sung, the Armenian Pontiff blessed the oils,
balsam, floral extracts, aromatic roots and plants, and asked for the graces
of the Holy Spirit to descend from heaven, infuse the elements of nature
that would soon be added to the cauldron, and to dwell within the hearts of
Armenian faithful in the homeland and throughout the Diaspora. In his
message to the faithful, His Holiness also stated, `We encourage our sons
and daughters throughout the world to pray with us unceasingly during this
time, so that your voices will be mixed with the sweet aromas and floral
essences, and thereby sanctify the Muron. We ask God to send the manifold
gifts of the Holy Spirit with His miraculous power to purify the souls of
all Armenians who will be baptized, sealed and ordained with this Chrism,
and that the sanctity of the Muron becomes the adornment of every
individual.’
After the ingredients were blessed, His Holiness added the elements into the
cauldron one at a time, and sealed the lid. The cooking process will take
three full days, during which time, the cauldron is constantly attended to
by the monks and deacons of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin. As the
fire below the cauldron cooks the elements, the clergy stand 24-hr vigil and
offer their continuous prayers and recitation of psalms, since the mixture
is never left unattended.
On the evening of Wednesday, September 17, the cooking process will come to
an end, and the mixture will be allowed to rest for three full days. During
this time as well, the cauldron is never left unattended and is always
accompanied by the prayers and psalms of the priests.
On Sunday, September 21, the mixture will be strained and prepared for the
actual blessing of the Holy Muron one week later, on Sunday, September 28,
when it is mixed with the pure olive oil that has been placed in the main
cauldron which has been resting on the bema of the Mother Cathedral of Holy
Etchmiadzin for the past 40 days. Also added at that time will be a portion
of the Holy Muron consecrated by the Catholicos of All Armenians in 2001, to
confirm the continuity of the Holy Muron from the past to the present, and
from the present to the future.
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