This Sunday will be observed as Father’s Day across the United States: a chance to reflect, with gratitude, on the deeper meaning of fatherhood. While the surrounding popular culture may sometimes fail to treat fatherhood with due seriousness, the Armenian Church accords great reverence and respect to fathers.
Armenia’s Saint of Compassion
On Saturday, the Armenian Church will remember one of its most remarkable historical figures, during the Feast of St. Nersess the Great.
A Season of Beginnings
The yearly transition to summer is a special time in the Armenian Church calendar. In quick succession, we observe our Lord’s Ascension, Pentecost, St. Gregory’s release from the pit, and the birth of Holy Etchmiadzin.
Welcome the Stranger
He was a man of holiness and generosity; but also a man who could countenance the cruelest violence. His very name confessed his loyalty to God—but also prefigured the loneliness that can follow any man with such loyalties. He was Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah “the Stranger”:
“Come and See”: Gospel Insights for Vocations Day
On the Feast of Pentecost the Eastern Diocese observes “Vocations Day”: a day to reflect on how God might be calling us along a certain road in life. The Gospel of John devotes special attention to the idea of the Christian “calling”