August 13, 2009
PRELATE AND VICAR WILL TRAVEL TO TROY

Archbishop Oshagan and Bishop Anoushavan will be in Troy, New York
this weekend where they will meet with the Board of Trustees of Holy
Cross Church
on Saturday, August 14.

On Sunday, August 16, Archbishop Oshagan will preside over the Divine
Liturgy, deliver the sermon and officiate at the Blessing of Grapes
ceremony.
BIBLE TRANSLATION CONTINUES

Archbishop Oshagan and Bishop Anoushavan will be in Montreal next week
where they will join Archbishop Khajag Hagopian and continue their
Bible
translation project.

HEAD OF MEKHITARIAN BROTHERHOOD VISITS

V. Rev. Fr. Yeghia Kilaghbian, head of the Mekhitarian Brotherhood
(Abbahayr) in Venice, visited the Prelacy on Tuesday, August 11,
where he was welcomed by the Prelate and Vicar. The Abbahayr is
currently on a visit to the United States.
Photo: From left to right: Bishop Anoushavan,
Archbishop Oshagan, V. Rev. Fr. Yeghia Kilaghbian, and Rev. Fr. Nareg
Terterian.

2009 PRELACY LINKED iN WEEKEND

The 2009 Prelacy LINKED iN weekend for young adults will take place
September 25-27, at the Holy Virgin Mary Spiritual Vineyard, Charlton,
Massachusetts, as part of the ongoing Year of the Youth activities..

Under the general theme of "Know Your Church," presentations will be
made by Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Archpriest Rev. Fr. Antranig
Baljian,
Professor Michael Papazian, and Yeretzgin Margaret Stepanian. The
weekend gathering will also feature prayer services, meditations,
bible studies,
and panel discussion.

For more information click
here (
4882/goto: 9.htm
).

LIVE TELEVISION BROADCAST FROM BIKFAYA

On the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin, the
Noursat will broadcast services LIVE via satellite the Holy Mass
presided
over by His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, from Sourp Asdvadzadzin
Monastery in Bikfaya, Lebanon, on Saturday, August 15.

For information about how to receive Noursat in your area click here (
4882/goto: 4/doc/English/cathcilnewseng.htm%234
).
DAILY BIBLE READINGS

Bible readings for today, Thursday, August 13, are: 1 Corinthians
15:34-49; Mark 3:20-30.

Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people have
no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. But someone will
ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?"
Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for
what you
sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps
of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has
chosen, and
to each kind of seed its own body. Not all flesh is alike, but there
is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds,
and
another for fish. There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies,
but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is
another.
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and
another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in
glory.

So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is
perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it
is
raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is
sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a
physical
body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, "The first
man, Adam, became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving
spirit.
But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then
the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the
second man
is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the
dust; and as is that man of heaven, so are those who are of
heaven. Just as we
have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image
of the man of heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:34-49)

For listing of the coming week’s Bible readings click here
( ).
FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

This Sunday, August 16, the Armenian Church celebrates the Feast of
the Assumption (Verapokoum) of the Holy Mother of God and the Blessing
of the Grapes. Although in modern Armenian the word verapokoum means
"change again," in classical Armenian it means "transport up."

According to tradition, Mary, the mother of Christ, died and was
buried by the apostles. The apostle Bartholomew, who was not present
at her
funeral, wished to visit her grave, but when the gravestone was lifted
they were surprised to find that the body had disappeared. It was
believed
that Christ had come and taken his mother to the Heavenly Kingdom.
Based on this event, the Church Fathers established the Feast of the
Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is one of the five tabernacle feast
days in the Armenian Church’s liturgical calendar. It is celebrated on
the
Sunday closest to August 15. The feast is preceded by a week (five
days) of fasting and a memorial day the day after.

Because Bartholomew was very fond of the Holy Mother, the apostle John
gave him an image of her (which she had given to John). Bartholomew
took
this image with him to Armenia to Darbnots Kar in the province of
Antsev, Vaspourakan (in Western Armenia) where a convent of nuns,
Hagyatz Vank
(Monastery for the Spirits) was built and where the icon was
kept. Most images of Bartholomew show him holding this icon.

The concept of the Virgin Mary’s Assumption is an old one as seen in
sacred prose and poetry dedicated to the Holy Mother. However, it did
not
become a basic doctrine of the church until the ninth century and it
was in the twelfth century that the feast was called "The
Assumption."
BLESSING OF THE GRAPES

In the Armenian Church the Blessing of the Grapes takes place on the
Feast of the Assumption, although there is no direct
connection. Similar to
other holidays, it coincides with a pagan era festival, which the
Church Fathers incorporated into the liturgical calendar. The hymn
Park Sourp
Khatachesi (Glory to Your Sacred Cross) is sung; Biblical passages are
recited, followed by a prayer composed by Catholicos Nerses Shnorhali
specifically for this occasion. After the prayer, the grapes are
blessed three times with Orhnestsee Bahbanestsee and then the blessed
grapes are
distributed to the faithful, many of whom refrain from eating grapes
until this blessing take place.

Certainly we can say that the Blessing of the Grapes commemoration is
a celebration of the fruitfulness of the earth. Grapes are one of the
oldest
cultivated plants in the world. According to Biblical history, Noah
planted a vineyard immediately after disembarking from the Ark
(Genesis, Chapter
9) in Nakhichevan. And, of course, the wine of the Divine Liturgy
comes from grapes.
"Bless, O Lord, the grape plants and vineyards from which these grapes
are taken and presented to the
holy church, and make them bountiful and fruitful; let them be like
good and fertile land, protect the vineyards from all kinds of
misfortunes and
destruction which come from above because of our sins, from hail, from
cold, from hot winds, and from destructive insects, so that we may
enjoy that
which You have created in this world for our enjoyment and for Your
glory, and grant that we may be worthy to eat and drink with You from
the bounty
of Your most fruitful vine at the table of Your Father’s Kingdom,
according to the just promise which You made, to the honor and glory
of Your
coexisting Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the most Holy Spirit to
whom is due glory, power, and honor, now and forever. Amen."
(From the prayer written by Nerses Shnorhali (the Gracious)
for the Blessing of the Grapes.)
Photo: St. Stephen’s Church (Watertown) marked the Blessing of the
Grapes last Sunday at Camp Haiastan in Franklin, Mass. In this
photo, left to right: Archpriest Fr. Antranig Baljian, Archbishop
Oshagan, Archpriest Fr. Arshag Daghlian (seated), and Archpriest
Fr. Aram
Stepanian. The Prelate’s sermon centered on the Andastan ceremony
(Blessing of the Harvest), explaining how centuries ago our Church
Fathers blessed
the four corners of the world and respected the earth and its
bountiful harvest. By today’s terminology they would be described as
"being green."
They were hundreds of years ahead of their time.
MONDAY IS MEMORIAL DAY
Monday, August 17 is Memorial Day. In accordance with the tradition of
the Armenian Church the day after each
of the tabernacle feasts is designated as a Memorial Day, a day of
remembrance of the dead, as well as a day of thanksgiving. For
Christians, and
especially in the Armenian Church, remembering the dead is a noble
deed. Lighting a candle, burning incense, or visiting the grave site
and placing
flowers is a way of being with loved ones who have passed on.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
August 16–Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, annual
picnic and Blessing of the Grapes.
August 16–St. Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts,
picnic and Blessing of the Grapes.
August 16–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia, Assumption of the Holy
Mother of God, Grape Blessing picnic. For information: 215-482-9200.
August 16–St. Gregory the Illuminator Church, Granite City, Illinois,
annual Blessing of the Grapes picnic, following Divine Liturgy and
Blessing of the Grapes, 12:30-3:30 pm, at St. Gregory Community
Center. Delicious
shish, losh and chicken kebab dinners, Armenian pastries, and
specialty foods; raffle, games and activities for kids. Rain or shine.
September 13–Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, Worcester,
Massachusetts, 75th anniversary Holy Mass and banquet, under the
auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan.
September 13–St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley, North Andover,
Massachusetts, annual picnic on newly renovated church grounds, 158
Main St., North Andover. Enjoy food, music. Fellowship. For details
go to
church’s web site ( (
4882/goto:
)) or call 978-685-5038.
September 12–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia; opening of Haigazian
Armenian School.
September 13–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia; opening of Sunday
School.
September 13–Annual picnic of St. Stephen’s Armenian Church of New
Britain and Hartford at the Quartette Club, 225 Wooster Street, New
Britain, Connecticut, beginning at noon, rain or shine. Live
music. Armenian
food. Free admission.
September 19-20–Re-consecration of the altar and the newly renovated
St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in New York City on Saturday. Episcopal
Divine Liturgy and Madagh on Sunday.
September 20–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia. Lobster Fest. For
information: 215-482-9200.
September 20–St. Sarkis Church (Douglaston, New York), annual picnic
on
the church grounds, 38-65 234th Street, Douglaston, beginning at 1 pm
immediately following church services and the blessing of the basil.
Delicious
Armenian kebabs, sweets, etc., along with games, music, dancing,
tavloo, basketball, volleyball, vendors and returning by popular
demand–"Kid-Z-One," with a host of activities for children. For
information 718-224-2275.
September 21–St. Stephen’s (Watertown, MA) Armenian School/ACEC 14th
annual Golf Outing at Framingham Country Club. $170 includes golf,
lunch, dinner, and contests. For information contact Astor at
781-326-5764.
September 25-26-27–Prelacy Linked In, gathering of the youth. For
details click here (
4882/goto: 9.htm
).
September 27–75th anniversary of St. Gregory Church, Indian Orchard,
Massachusetts, under auspices of Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan. Country
Club of Wilbraham, 859 Stony Hill Road, Wilbraham,
Massachusetts. Special
performances by Dottie Bengoian and the St. Gregory Sunday School
children. For information: 413-596-9242.
September 28–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia, Golf Outing at
Talamore
Country Club, Ambler, Pennsylvania. For information: 215-482-9200.
September 28–Holy Trinity Church (Worcester, Massachusetts), 6th
annual Golf Outing, Sterling National Country Club, Sterling,
MA. Golf, breakfast, dinner, and prizes, $130 per person. For
information send email
to kappyk@verizon.net (mailto:kappyk@verizon.net), or telephone
508-872-9629.
October 1–Sts. Vartanantz Church (New Jersey), presents 7th annual
Golf Outing at River Vale Country Club, River Vale, New Jersey. $175
includes lunch, dinner, golf and contests. Come out and enjoy a great
day and
support the church. For information contact Mark, 201-483-3200.
October 15-18–Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, Food Festival
and Bazaar.
October 17–National Association of Ladies Guilds (NALG) annual
conference at the Prelacy offices in New York City. Details will
follow.
October 18–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia, Intercommunal Cultural
Celebration at Holy Trinity Church, Cheltenham, PA.
November 1–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia, Sunday School Halloween
Party.
November 6-7–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia. Food
Festival.
November 14–Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, 45th anniversary
celebration.
November 20, 21, 22–Sts. Vartanantz Church (Ridgefield, New Jersey)
Annual Bazaar and Food Festival. Saturday night dancing with "Onnik
Dinkjian"; Sunday traditional kavourma dinner.
December 20–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia. Sunday School
Christmas
Pageant.
December 31–St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia, Seroonian Community
Center New Year’s Eve celebration.
December 31–Sts. Vartanantz Church (Ridgefield, New Jersey), New
Year’s Eve Dinner-Dance. Details to follow.
Web pages of the parishes can be accessed through the Prelacy’s web
site.
To ensure the timely arrival of Crossroads in your electronic mailbox,
add email@armenianprelacy.org (mailto:email@armenianprelacy.org) to
your address book.
Items in Crossroads can be reproduced without permission. Please
credit Crossroads as the
source.
Parishes of the Eastern Prelacy are invited to send information about
their major events to be
included in the calendar. Send to: info@armenianprelacy.org
(mailto:info@armenianprel acy.org)