A common image runs through the Gospel readings for the upcoming Sunday of Great Lent: the Sunday of the Judge. Two stories show Jesus talking about the coming of God’s kingdom, and the way to pray to our Heavenly Father.
Steward or Swindler?
The steward is a figure who comes up in many of Jesus’ parables—a “stock character,” we might say, who would have been very recognizable to Christ’s listeners.
What did stewards do, in the time of Jesus? What made them so interesting to our Lord?
A Father’s Love: The Sunday of the Prodigal Son
Perhaps the holiest moment in the Armenian Divine Liturgy is when the congregation fills the church with the singing of the Lord’s Prayer. We begin with the words Hayr Mer—“Our Father”; but what really do we mean by referring to God as a “father”?
Expulsion and Temptation
The Armenian Church lays special emphasis on the season of Great Lent as a “school” for personal spirituality. The faithful are guided on a kind of “pilgrimage of the soul,” with each Sunday of Lent dedicated to a story from Scripture
The Eve of Avarayr: St. Vartan’s Address to His Troops
In honor of the Armenian Church’s “Feast of St. Vartan the Warrior and His Companions” (Feb. 8, 2024), read the oration Vartan delivered before his 66,000-man army, on the eve of the Battle of Avarayr in A.D 451—retold in English for a modern readership.