Feast Of The Assumption At St. Leon Armenian Cathedral

The Armenian Apostolic Church observed the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God on Sunday, August 13, 2017. The tabernacle feast attracted hundreds of faithful who flocked St. Leon Armenian Cathedral to take part in the episcopal celebration of the Divine Liturgy. The day's celebrant was the Diocesan Primate His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.

Archbishop Derderian was assisted at the Holy Altar by the Rev. Fr. Khajag Shahbazyan, the Very Rev. Fr. Ruben Zargaryan, member of the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Cathedral’s deacons. His Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, Archpriest Fr. Sipan Mekhsian, Archpriest Fr. Manoug Markarian and the Rev. Fr. Nerses Hayrapetyan participated in the service.

In his homily, the Primate reflected on the significance of the tabernacle feast. "The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is registered in our Church calendar as one of the most important feasts wherein we celebrate the sainthood of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Mother of God and make the promise to mirror her life in our inner spiritual entity. This celebration becomes meaningful when we equally humble ourselves to follow her in her life’s path to be dedicated mothers. What we see in the Gospel is most inspiring and spiritually uplifting. Mary responded to God’s call and became the true mother. She led baby Jesus to the House of the Lord. This fact reminds us all to lead our children to God and teach them to grow with Christ, our Lord. Therefore, as we celebrate the feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, we then make the commitment to renew our Christian faith and live a life similar to that of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”  

The traditional Blessing of the Grapes ceremony was performed during the service after which the blessed grapes were distributed to the faithful.