Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Brotherhood Celebrates the Feast of The Presentation

On February 14, in celebration of the Feast of The Presentation of the forty-day old God incarnate, the infant Jesus Christ, the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin participated in a divine liturgy at the Saint Gayane Monastery. The celebrant was the Director of the Mother See's Evangelical Center, the Very Reverend Father Garegin Hambardzumyan.

In his sermon during the Divine Liturgy, the Father discussed the significance of the feast, noting, "Today’s scriptural readings interestingly present not our interpretation of the phrase 'to go to meet the Lord,' but rather, that the Lord comes to meet people. When we read the letter of Apostle Paul, we see that we are no longer servants but children of God; therefore, God comes to meet us to grant us His adoption. The Lord Jesus Christ does not wait for us to come to Him, but rather, God Himself comes to meet us. Indeed, today the 40-day old Christ has come to the temple and is waiting for us to keep Him within the temples of our hearts. According to the words of Apostle Paul, 'This is what I say to you, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a servant, although he is master of all.' With these words, dear ones, we have Christ’s presence in our lives, but do we truly desire to be adopted by God? Today, Christ takes the first step by entering our lives, our temple. The next step belongs to us. As much as is required, we must await that one day God will come, and with that hope, we must all be filled."

Father Garegin also reminded the believers that the Feast of The Presentation has been proclaimed by His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, as a day for blessing newlyweds.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, under the auspices of His Grace Bishop Hovhannes Hakobyan, the Primate of the Mother See, a ceremony for the blessing of newlywed couples was conducted. On the same day, the Catholicos also received newly ordained deacons serving at the Mother See along with their spouses, extending his paternal blessing and well-wishes on the occasion of the feast," the statement said.