Armenian Church E-Newsletter‏

		H-J;rjik E-Newsletter
April 5, 2010	Volume 1, Number 1
Diocese of the Armenian Church of The United Kingdom The Vicarage Iverna Gardens Kensington London W8 6TP Telephone: 020 7937 0152 Fax: 020 7937 9049 E-mail: information@ armenianchurch. co.uk Scripture Readings for Easter Sunday Book of Acts 1:15-26 Gospel of Mark 16:2-6 Have you visited “The Primate’s Blog”? ChristianBlog To subscribe to our E-Newsletter, or to send us your comments, questions or feedback please e-mail us at: Information		Christ Is Risen from the Dead! Easter is the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is the most important feast in the annual calendar of the Armenian Church and of Christianity. Easter is the feast that celebrates the discovery of the empty tomb of Christ three days after His death and burial. The resurrection thus is celebrated as Christ’s victory over death. For us, Armenian Christians and followers of Christ, therefore, Easter is the celebration of the hope of everlasting life for us and our loved ones. It is the celebration of the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, hope over despair, love over hatred and life over death. It is the victory of the martyrs over tyranny and persecution. Easter Sunday is followed by a period of 40 days dedicated to the theme of resurrection, during which there are no fasting days. This period is modeled after the 40 days Christ spent on earth after His Resurrection. The 40th day after the Resurrection, which is always a Thursday, is Ascension Day, commemorating our Lord's ascension to heaven. Ten days later, i.e. 50 days after Easter, is Pentecost (Hogegaloust), on which day the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and gave them the power to preach in various tongues. This is marked as the birthday of the universal Church. On this glorious feast day of Easter, we pray to the Resurrected Lord that He may continue blessing you, your family members and loved ones. · To read our Primate’s Easter Message in Armenian, please click here. · To read our Primate’s Easter Message in English, please click here. · To read the Easter Church Bulletin, please click here. Armenian Church Outreach With this issue of the “E-Newsletter” (Է-Թերթիկ) the Armenian Church in the UK enters a new phase of communication with her faithful. We are happy to launch this e-tool to reach out to as many of our fellow Armenians and friends in the UK and around the world as possible utilizing the Information Superhighways. The purpose of this tool is to keep in touch. The E-Newsletter offers an opportunity for the church to share news of importance to the faithful with audio and video files, and offer information of interest to our people about upcoming events and announcements. Holy Week in London 2010 Great Week (Avak Shapat, Աւագ Շաբաթ) or Holy Week is the week prior to Easter that begins with Palm Sunday and reaches its climax with the celebration of the Easter Eve Badarak. With “Holy Week” Armenians end their annual spiritual journey of Great Lent (Medz Bahk, Մեծ Պահք) and enter the inspiring, yet short, season of church services, prayers and vigils remembering the final days of our Lord on earth, His passion, betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, death and burial. Holy Week, obviously looks forward and anticipates the end of the week with the arrival of Easter Eve, the Saturday night service that takes us to the re-discovery of the empty tomb and the miracle of the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Week services began with the celebration of Palm Sunday in both St. Sarkis and St. Yeghiche churches, on 28 March 2010. The celebrant in St. Yeghiche was Fr. Nerses Nersesian, and in St. Sarkis, Fr. Shnork Baghdasarian. Palm Sunday celebrates the voluntary return of Jesus to Jerusalem to encounter and challenge His opponents. On Thursday morning, the faithful joined the clergy of our diocese in St. Sarkis Church to commemorate the Last Supper of our Lord. The same day in the evening the beautiful and inspiring services of the Washing of the Feet took place, with our Primate, Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian, washing the feet of 12 children. At 8:00PM the solemn and spiritually renewing and cleansing service of the Betrayal of the Lord (Khavaroom) started. Over hundred and fifty people gathered in the church, some of whom remaining standing throughout the service, joined the clergy, deacons and members of the choir in singing the hymns, psalmodies, and petitions, while seven readings from the Holy Scripture led the congregation in the narrative of the final hours of our Lord. On the following day, Good Friday, the church remembered the death and burial of the Lord, with the traditional procession, commemorating the burial of the Lord. Thanks to our clergy, members of the choir and deacons as well as the hundreds of faithful who attended these services, Armenians in London once again enjoyed the annually renewing and spiritually uplifting services of the Holy Week according to the beautiful traditions of the Armenian Church. Join us Saturday and Sunday as we culminate the week long journey with the celebration of the glorious resurrection of our Lord. For the details of the services and other Easter announcement, please click here. Church Announcements: Bible Study Group: We are happy to announce the launching of a new Bible Study group in London. Starting on Tuesday, 13 April 2010, our Primate, Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian, will be leading a weekly Bible reading and discussion group. The group will meet every Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM in the Vicarage. Following a brief introduction by Fr. Vahan, those joining us will read and discuss the Gospel of Matthew. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served. For further information please e-mail: programs@armenianchurch.co.uk. Sunday Bulletin: Beginning on Sunday 2 May, 2010, we will be publishing a weekly church bulletin. The bulletin will include information about the main theme of the specific Sunday, feast day, saint’s biography, upcoming church activities, including church services, Bible Study sessions, lectures, guest visitations and other information related to the church life and ministry. The bulletin will also list the names of the deceased for whom Hogehangist is requested for that Sunday. Deacons’ Training Program: Deacons and altar servers play a central role in preparing and celebrating the Armenian liturgical services. Deaconate is the first major liturgical rank. In many cases it is the deacon who navigates the faithful in the church through the prayers and worship, more than the celebrant himself. Our Primate, Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian, invites our youth, ages 13 and older to join the newly formed “Altar Service” program that he will launch and direct to prepare altar servers versed in the centuries-old yet always-renewing traditions of our liturgy. Those who are interested are urged to e-mail to: programs@armenianchurch.co.uk..