The Diocese
Posted: 04/06/2020
For the first time on Palm Sunday, the church sanctuary was empty. Christ’s triumphant entry into the Holy City was celebrated without the luminous children’s procession. I vividly remember my childhood years when me and my brothers dressed up in white clothes and with candles holding palm and olive branches rushed to the nearby church to be in traditional procession. These memorable moments will always stay with me and with most of us.
This year’s Palm Sunday celebration felt quite extraordinary. Children stayed in their homes and were deprived of participating in the Palm Sunday procession. It is truly sad, yet I would ask from all parents to encourage your children to lead a prayerful life. Teach them to pray, to cross themselves, for it is our collective responsibility to teach our children the way leading to God through recitation of prayers.
Therefore, I have a gift for all children. It is a prayer book, selected prayers from my heart which I have compiled. I have been sharing them on Facebook and eventually the twelve prayers and the songs will be made available on our Diocesan Facebook page.
Dear parents, you are the guardians of your children. Instruct them the Word of God and inspire them with the life of Christ, our Lord and with the faith of our forefathers.
My beloved children, we missed you greatly on Palm Sunday. It is painful for us all to close the doors of our churches to stop the spread of the coronavirus and keep you all at your homes. Yet remember that what keeps us together is prayer. When we pray, we are the invisible procession led by Jesus. I will be praying for the children of the world family and will be waiting for your prayers.
Archbishop Hovnan Derderian
Diocesan Primate
April 5, 2020
