Philadelphia Inquirer, PA

Holy oil flows past obstacles

MICHAEL ROBINSON CHAVEZ / Los Angeles Times

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian (right) of the Western Diocese of the
Armenian Church, based in Burbank, Calif., distributes vials of holy
oil to priests from across Southern California. Photo

Posted on Sun, Oct. 26, 2008

Holy oil flows past obstacles

Post-9/11 flight rules force Armenian Church priests to adapt.
By Louis Sahagun

Los Angeles Times

Every seven years since A.D. 301, priests have trekked to the ancient
Cathedral of Etchmiadzin in Armenia to retrieve freshly brewed muron,
a sweet-scented holy oil stirred with what is said to be the tip of
the lance driven through Jesus’ side, and carry it back to their
respective dioceses.
Prepared in a massive silver caldron, the mixture of herbs, flower
extracts, spices, wine, and pure olive oil is derived from an original
batch mixed at the Armenian Church’s founding 1,707 years ago. It is
replenished every seven years by pouring old into new, continuing a
mysterious connection between distant generations.

The priests traditionally have traveled home with their portions in
jars cradled in their arms, because muron is supposed to be handled
only by ordained clergy.

That all changed late in September, when ancient tradition met with a
21st-century obstacle thrown up since the last trip for the holy oil:
As a liquid, muron cannot be taken aboard commercial airliners,
according to airport security rules.

"We were very worried. In the old days, we carried the muron in our
hands," said Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, primate of the Western
Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, in Burbank, Calif. "I
would never have given away that privilege, but we had no option."

Derderian bundled up his six containers in layers of cloth and then
packed them snugly into three suitcases. Airport baggage handlers took
it from there.

"I was confident that nothing would happen to it," he said. "You do
your best, and then trust in God."

Derderian’s containers arrived safely after a 20-hour flight.

A genial man with a black beard, Derderian declared mission
accomplished Oct. 7 when priests from churches across Southern
California gathered around a massive oak table in his office.

Their 7-ounce portions of the amber oil were presented on a silver
tray: 15 small glass jars with white screw-cap lids, each marked with
a label written in English and Armenian: "Holy Muron. September 28,
2008. Holy Etchmiadzin."

After prayers and solemn hymns, the clergy, clad in black robes, stood
and formed a line. Fist-size silver crosses, some studded with
precious stones, dangled from silver chains around their necks. They
approached the table, in turn, with heads bowed and kissed the jars
that Derderian placed in their hands.

A few minutes later, they were heading back to their churches, where
the oil would be transferred into dove-shape sterling silver
containers symbolizing the Holy Spirit.

Over the next seven years, the muron will be used – a few drops at a
time – primarily for christenings in Armenian churches the world over.

"Armenians everywhere are bound by muron," said Zaven Arzoumanian, a
theologian with the Western Diocese. "It receives special powers from
relics used in its preparation. The gifts of the Holy Spirit come from
it in church ceremonies.

"That is why," he added with a smile, "our people have always said,
‘My child must be muronized.’ "

Muron’s origins date to the founding of the Armenian Church,
established in the early fourth century by St. Gregory the
Illuminator, patron saint of Armenians. He established the Cathedral
of Etchmiadzin, one of the world’s oldest.

St. Gregory is said to have blended the first muron there as a
unifying religious symbol of forgiveness and peace, and as a
medicine. Over the centuries, church leaders say, muron helped sustain
a people decimated and dispersed by war, conquest and genocide.

This muron season, more than 70,000 people braved drenching rains to
watch His Holiness Karekin II, supreme patriarch and catholicos of
Armenians worldwide, lead a procession from the Cathedral of
Etchmiadzin to an outdoor altar where the mixture had been
steam-heated for 40 days and nights.

The ceremony culminated with a pitcher of fresh muron being combined
with the old in a gigantic engraved silver caldron and stirred with an
assortment of religious relics.

Congregants are invited to scoop up samples to take home or drink then
and there. "It’s important to be a part of the muron process,"
Derderian said. "It really takes you back in time."