The Blessing of the Third Muron (Holy Chrism) of the 21st
century was held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on September 27, the
Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak. The historic ceremonial rite was presided by
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
https://youtu.be/qei2qDo6LS0?list=PLC8jJ5vmia3-UqDbWIfXDsFAVhzxu9Dh0
Attending
the sacred ceremony of the Blessing of the Holy Muron were the Republic of
Armenia President Serzh Sargsyan; Republic of Armenia National Assembly
President Galust Sahakyan; Republic of Armenia Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan;
Gagik Harutyunyan, Constitutional Court Chairman; representatives of the
Hierarchical Sees of the Armenian Church; Diocesan Primates and Diocesan
delegations; members of the Supreme Spiritual Council; Republic of Armenia
National Assembly deputies; Republic of Armenia Government members; national
benefactors; culture and science figures and thousands of pilgrims from the
communities of Armenia and Diaspora.
On this important historic event of the Armenian Apostolic
Holy Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church; Syrian Orthodox Church; Syrian
Orthodox Church; Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church; Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
of Antioch and All the East; Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria; Russian
Orthodox Church; Serbian Orthodox Church; Romanian Orthodox Church; Orthodox
Church of Cyprus; Czech Orthodox Church; Albanian Orthodox Church; Roman
Catholic Church; Greek Catholic Church; Syrian Catholic Church; Armenian
Catholic Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland; Community of
Sant'Egidio and Delegates and representatives of the World Council of Churches
were prayerful to the clergy of the Armenian Church and the Armenian nation.
The ceremony began at 17:00 in the evening. Following the
Lord’s Prayer and the incense blessing, the Pontifical procession walked from
the Mother Cathedral to the St. Trdat Outdoor Altar. Under the singing of the
“Khorhurd Khorin” and “Urakh Ler” hymns, and the precursor calling of the
Mother Cathedral bells, led by crosses and banners, and accompanied by the
applause of the pilgrims His Holiness blessed the faithful and was accompanied
to the Open Altar.
His Holiness was assisted by Archbishop Nourhan Manougian,
Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem and Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian,
representative of Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.
The Procession carried historical relics, the reqliquary of
Skevra and the reliquary of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide, and
other blessed relics to be used in the Blessing of the Holy Muron. His Eminence
Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, General Vicar of the Armenian Patriarchate of
Constantinople carried the piece of the True Cross; His Eminence Archbishop
Pargev Martirosyan, Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh, carried the Holy Lance;
His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the
Armenian Church of North America carried the Holy Right Hand of St. Gregory the
Illuminator; His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western
Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America carried a jar with Floral
essence; His Eminence Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan, Vicar General of the
Araratian Pontifical Diocese carried a vessel of balsam; His Eminence
Archbishop Sepouh Chuljian, Primate of the Diocese of Gougark, carried the
Catholicos Gospel, which was brought from the Matenadaran on this occasion; His
Eminence Archbishop Paren Avetikian carried the relics of the Holy Right Hand
of the Apostle St. Andreas; His Eminence Archbisop Nathan Hovhannisyan,
Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of Mother See
carried the Right Hand of St. Luke the Evangelist; His Eminence Archbishop
Yezras Nersisyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of New Nakhijevan and Russia
carried the great dove with the old Muron; His Grace Bishop Movses Movsisyan,
Primate of the Armenian Diocese of South Russia carried the Holy Right Hand of
Apostle St. Thaddeus.
Benefactor of the Mother See Mr. Haik Didizian, who was
serving as Godfather of the Holy Muron and dressed in ecclesiastical robe, was
accompanied by Rev. Fr. Narek Avagyan and Rev. Fr. Ruben Zargaryan who were
censing the procession.
The Mother See choir, welcomed the Pontifical Procession to
the Open Altar with the singing of the solemn hymn "Hrashapar", then
the mysterious ceremony of the Blessing of the Holy Muron began with the Lord’s
Prayer.
Under the singing of the hymns of “Vor zshnorhs” the Rev.
Fathers censed the altar and the Holy Cauldron, and the Bishops, led by the
Catholicos of All Armenians, read passages from the Old and New Testaments and
as well as read prayers from the Holy Bible, dedicated to the Holy Muron.
After the reading of the Gospel, the hymn "Lord, open
to us" was sung, during which Mr. Haik Didizian, the Godfather of the Holy
Muron, was invited to the Open Altar, who along with His Grace Bishop Hovnan
Hakobyan, Grand Sacristan of the Mother See, opened the Holy Muron cauldron.
His Holiness poured the floral essence and the balsam into
the Holy Muron cauldron, after which His Holiness added the newly blessed Muron
made in Antelias, which was brought to His Holiness by His Eminence Archbishop
Shahan Sarkissian, representative of Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia.
According to the sacred Tradition, under the singing of the
"Arakeloy aghavnoy” hymns, His Holiness poured the old Muron into the
cauldron, conveying the power of the Holy Muron blessed by St. Gregory the
Illuminator to the new one.
His Holiness blessed the Holy Muron, then stirred it with
the piece of the True Cross, the Holy Lance, and the Holy Right Hand of St.
Gregory the Illuminator. Then, the Catholicos of All Armenians conveyed his
message to the attendees and the Armenians around the world.
At the conclusion of the Blessing of the Holy Muron, under
the singing of the Pontifical hymn, the Procession walked back to the Mother
Cathedral. The attendees, under the presidence of the President of Armenia, the
Godfather of the Holy Muron, and the representatives of the Christian Churches,
were given the opportunity to touch the Holy Muron cauldron and receive the
blessing of the new Holy Muron.
The Message of His Holiness Karekin II
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians
On the Occasion of the Blessing of the Holy Chrism
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, September 27, 2015
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
“Through the strength of Your All-Holy Spirit, let this oil
be:
The oil of joy and garment of light… holiness of body and
soul…,
the seal of justice, the weapon of faith, and the martyr
triumphant against all the works of the intriguer.”
Prayer for the Blessing of the Holy Chrism
Beloved and pious faithful,
By the providence of our merciful God, in this year of the
100th anniversary commemorating the Armenian Genocide, a new joy flows in our
lives through the Blessing of the Holy Chrism. Today is a great feast. It is
the Feast of the Holy Cross of Varag, the cherished commemoration of the miraculous
revelation of the relic of our Lord’s cross, brought to Armenia. On this
glorious day and with boundless spiritual joy, we offered the Blessing of the
Holy Chrism in the spiritual center of all Armenians – the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin.
We offered our prayers up to our heavenly Father, appealing
for Him to transform this material oil through the grace of His Holy Spirit
into holiness and grace-bestowing strength. Through the prayers of our
forefathers, we asked that it be “an oil of joy and garment of light… holiness
of body and soul… the seal of justice, the weapon of faith, and the martyr
triumphant against all the works of the intriguer.” We appealed that through
its sacred anointment, the flow of divine gifts will continue to the souls of our
faithful, on our land of Armenia, and the lives of all our people.
The Holy Chrism is the visible sign of sealing with Christ,
which we accept through the sacrament of Baptism and Christening, as an
inheritor of the Savior. Through the Holy Chrism, we are clothed with the
holiness of Christ, we are cleansed of sin, so that we may live with the
justice of God. The Chrism is an awakening and springtime for souls; a
blossoming of faith, virtuous life, and pious good works; a shield against
evil, and the victory, glory and luminous crown of the faithful; since our
heavenly Father – through his Only Begotten Son – called us from death to life,
from the servitude of sin to the freedom of grace, and to the inheritance of
the heavenly kingdom.
Today through the mercy of God, the sons and daughters of
our nation have converged from all corners of the world as pilgrims in Holy
Etchmiadzin, to bring their prayerful participation in the Blessing Service of
the Holy Chrism. The presence of thousands of our faithful sons and daughters
testify to the importance and value of the Holy Chrism in our lives, which is
the seal of our Christian identity and the mortar of our national unity. Within
the Chrism we also see the care and nurture that God has for our people, Who
distributed the grace of His salvation throughout the lands and people of
Armenia surrounding Mount Ararat. In the Chrism, we see the holy mountain of
Ararat, on which the ark of salvation of the patriarch Noah came to rest, and
the olive branch brought by the dove became the symbol of God’s peace. And the
oil of the olive tree, became the blessed ingredient of the Holy Chrism. In
every drop of the Chrism, we behold our Lord’s oil of anointing, brought to
Armenia by the very hand of Saint Thaddeus the Apostle. We see the baptism of
the King of Armenia Tiridates, his royal house, and all the people, by the hand
of Saint Gregory the Illuminator in the Arsanias River, in the waters of the
Eastern Euphrates, under the luminous Cross of the Lord which appeared in the heavens.
In the Chrism is the image of our God-granted Holy Etchmiadzin; the reflection
of our Chrism-consecrated monasteries and churches, cross-stones and
manuscripts; and the portraits of our saints who disbursed the light of the
Chrism through their lives. The Chrism unifies and blends our past and present,
and yes, we believe for all of the coming centuries, since our people kept
unshaken the seal of the Chrism when faced with all tribulations, with
unquestionable confidence, that it is the “oil of joy and garment of light…
holiness of body and soul… the seal of justice, the weapon of faith, and the
martyr triumphant against all the works of the intriguer.”
Dear ones, let us value our Chrism as the Chrism of a holy
life, the Chrism of renaissance, so that through spiritual renewal, and with
our righteous life and works of mercy, we continue our path of ascent. Let us
regard the Chrism as the mortar and cement of national unity, so that we may
overcome the difficulties of our life, to dispel the worries and challenges.
Today, when the world is full of crises, conflicts that take human life –
specifically in the Middle East – where unspeakable suffering and losses are
borne by our people as well, when tranquility is shattered on the borders of
our homeland, and the recognition of the rights our people has yet to receive
its just verdict, it is imperative for us to strengthen our homeland through
solid unanimity, so that it becomes the refuge for the peaceful and secure life
for all of our people, for the victory of our righteous cause, and the
inspiring force for national revival. The Holy Chrism, through its spiritual
strength, became a weapon of faith as well 100 years ago for our people who
were the victims of the Genocide of the Armenians, who became victorious
Martyrs, keeping their loyalty to God and their patrimony. Our people afflicted
by genocide, survived and defeated death with their Chrism-sealed faith. Our
path for the next 100 years was a path of rebirth; and today, under the canopy
of our independent statehood, new horizons of national awakening are dawning.
This Chrism prepared with confidence and hope in our newly ordained life,
blessed in this revered year commemorating the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, and with the intercessory prayers of our sanctified Martyrs,
is hereby proclaimed to be the CHRISM OF VICTORY, with the belief that it shall
seal the souls of our faithful with the courageous and undefeatable spirit of
our Holy Martyrs, all of the Lord’s witnesses and our forebears who defended
our patrimony.
May the Holy Chrism being dispersed from Holy Etchmiadzin
dispense holiness and the sweet scent of spiritual virtues throughout the world
and in the life of every Armenian, in blessed national-ecclesiastical fields,
in Armenian families, on the borders of our homeland, throughout our armed
forces defending our nation, and in the hearts of all sons and daughters of our
Holy Church; turning into the power of victories and new achievements of good
works. One of our patriarchs of blessed memory, Simeon of Yerevan, says of the
Chrism that is dispensed from Etchmiadzin, “Just as the rays of the sun
announce the beauty and benefit of the sun, as a result of which the earth is
administered and remains green; so too does the Holy Chrism always proclaim the
beauty and benefit of Holy Etchmiadzin, which illuminates your souls and
bodies.” May the eternal light of the Chrism of Holy Etchmiadzin always be
sealed within the souls of our people, so that they may always renew their oath
to God, their oath to our Apostolic Holy Church and cherished homeland. May the
peace of God proclaimed by the olive branch brought by the dove from the slopes
of Ararat, strengthen the spirit of justice and humanitarianism in the world,
and reinforce the solidarity and cooperation among men and nations.
On this blessed and soul-renewing day, we offer our thanks
up to Almighty God, for granting us once more the grace to offer the sacred
service of Blessing the Holy Chrism, with the participation and prayers of the
president of the Republic of Armenia, His Excellency Serzh Sargsian;
Archbishops Mushegh and Shahan, representing our spiritual brother Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia; His Beatitude Archbishop Nourhan
Manougian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem; His Eminence Archbishop Aram
Ateshian, Vicar General of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople; the
honorable heads and honored representatives of the sister Churches; our
oath-bound clergy; high ranking state leaders of the Armenians; heads and
representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Armenia; and the manifold
pious faithful of our Church from within Armenia and who have traveled from the
Diaspora. We extend our fraternal greeting with spiritual joy to His Holiness
Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia; to His Beatitude Mesrob
Mutafian, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople; and to the spiritual heads of
our sister Churches, with the prayer and wish that the Lord always keep His
Holy Church unshaken and vibrant, with the life-giving message of the Gospel,
to illuminate the life of mankind and the mission of leading humanity to
salvation.
We pray for our All-Merciful Lord to grant peace and
security to the world, our homeland and our native land of Armenia and Artsakh.
May the lives of our people and all mankind be abundantly blessed by the graces
of the Lord’s Holy Spirit.
May the grace, love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you and with all. Amen.
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