Lraper Church Bulletin 27/08/2005
Contact: Deacon Vagharshag Seropyan
Armenian Patriarchate
TR-34130 Kumkapi, Istanbul
T: +90 (212) 517-0970, 517-0971
F: +90 (212) 516-4833, 458-1365
lraper@lraper.org
www.lraper.org
THE FEAST OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD IS CELEBRATED WITH JOY:
THE PATRIARCH PRESIDES OVER SERVICES IN KUMKAPI
Photos: http://www.lraper.org/main.aspx?Action=DisplayNews&NewsCode=N000000914&Lang=ENG
On Sunday, 14 August 2005, at the morning Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, His Beatitude Mesrob II, Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul and All Turkey, presided over the celebrations in the Holy Mother of God Patriarchal Church, celebrated the Divine Liturgy, delivered the homily and blessed the grapes.
The religious procession formed at the gate of the Patriarchate at 10:15. After it entered the Patriarchal Church amid the sound of bells and sacred music, the Divine Liturgy began.
His Beatitude the Patriarch celebrated the Divine Liturgy. Deacons Rober Kucukakbulut, Roy Kucukates, Vartkes Pestilciyan, Vagarsak Seropyan and a group of acolytes served at the altar. The polyphonic setting of the liturgical hymns by Fr. Gomidas was sung by the Koghtan Choir, under the direction of Hovsep Kuyumcuyan.
THE HOMILY
His Beatitude the Patriarch preached, at the end of the Divine Liturgy, on Luke 1:48: “From now on all generations will call me blessed…” He said that all saints are venerated in the person of the Holy Virgin Mary, whose death and subsequent assumption are celebrated in the Major Feast of theHoly Mother of God, on the nearest Sunday to 15 August. As her relative Elizabeth said, the Holy Virgin Mary was “blessed among women,” and “the fruit of her womb was blessed” (Lk 1:42) because God created a miracle in her life. The Holy Spirit came upon her, the power of the Most High overshadowed her, and she attained the honour of giving birth to the Messiah – Him Who was “God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten and not made.”
The Holy Mother of God is the highest example of a believer who knows submission to God’s will. When Christ was preaching a woman shouted for joy, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that suckled you.” Christ responded, “The truly blessed are those who hear God’s word and apply it.” The words are parallel to the faith seen in the life Mary, “who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (Lk 1:45), who called on people to “do whatever Christ tells you” (Jn 2:1-12), and who said to the Archangel Gabriel after he proclaimed that she would be the mother of the Messiah, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” According to scripture, everything in the world and in the universe, animals, plants, and in the end people as well, were created by God’s will through the words, “Let there be.” Fallen human beings had said “Yes” to Satan, and then centuries later, a believing woman, the “New Eve,” the Holy Virgin Mary this time said “Yes” to God’s will, and with that the sin of humankind and curse of death were lifted, and darkness was split open.
According to Holy Tradition, after the death of the Holy Mother of God, who had taken on an important role in God’s plan of salvation for humankind, the miraculous events that developed around her tomb, and especially the absence of her body from the grave, showed the holiness of her person. We believe in the truth of “the resurrection of the dead” as we often repeat in the Creed. Death and resurrection, which will happen to each one of us one day, happened also to the Holy Virgin Mary, and today we celebrate her assumption into heaven.
Patriarch Mesrob then explained the meaning of the blessing of the grapes in this festival. “The soil and its products were cursed because of the disobedience of Eve. When Christ, ‘life and the first fruit of eternal life,’ born of the Holy Virgin Mary, was nailed on the cross as Divine Sacrifice, sinful humankind, believing in Him, could be reconciled to God. When Christ said of the wine, the juice of the grape, “This is my Blood,” all fruits become blessed. For this reason grapes are blessed on the festival of Mother Mary.”
NAME DAY OF THE CHURCH
His Beatitude the Patriarch also recalled that the Name Day of the Holy Mother of God Patriarchal Church is celebrated in this festival. However, he said that the traditional Fellowship Meal (Madagh) celebration will take place in October to benefit the Bezciyan School.
BLESSING OF THE GRAPES
Following the Divine Liturgy, the grapes, which were displayed in a large tray, symbolizing the year’s blessings, were blessed with readings from scripture, a prayer written by Catholicos St. Nerses the Graceful of Hromcla, and hymns sung by the congregation, which filled the sanctuary with joy. With the blessing of the grapes, the entire harvest of the year, all vineyards, and all benefactors were blessed “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – One God”
THE FINAL BLESSING
At the conclusion of the services, His Beatitude the Patriarch recessed to the historical Patriarchal building, to the accompaniment of sacred music. The celebration of the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God ended here with a final blessing.
Yorumlar kapatıldı.