International Orthodox Christian News

ANTELIAS PILGRIMAGE DAY

The pilgrimage day in Antelias becomes an opportunity for a long-awaited meeting every year between the faithful and the Holy Right Hand of Saint Gregory the Illuminator. Our people once again experienced this unique moment on March 9, when the Catholicosate of Cilicia was filled with a large number of the faithful who had come to commemorate the beginning of Saint Gregory the Illuminator’s imprisonment in Khor Virab.

His Holiness Aram I presided over the Holy Mass held in Antelias on the occasion of the Pilgrimage Day. The Prelate of the Western Prelacy of Northern America, Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian officiated the mass and delivered the sermon. The Catholicosate’s “Shenorhali” choir sang the hymns under guidance from artistic director Zakar Keshishian. While both the bells of the Mother Church were being tolled during “Havadamk”, the Pontifical procession started marching from the Veharan, led by Cilician Brotherhood members carried the box in which the Holy Relic of Saint Gregory the Illuminator is placed. The silver-coated Relic consists of a bone from the right hand of the Patron Saint of the Armenian Church.

In his Sermon, Archbishop Mardirossian first spoke about the life and dedication of the Greatest Saint of the Armenian nation starting from his years as a young teen when he was rescued from a vengeful Armenian king and taken to Kayseri, where he received Christian education. Recounting the historical chronicles, the Archbishop talked about the great conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity following the efforts of the Saint. Finally, he prayed to God to keep the Catholicosate of Cilicia strong and for peace in our Lebanese homeland.

Following the mass, a large procession of the Cilician Brotherhood members, priests and Seminary students carrying several Holy Relics made a round tour around the Mother Church led by Catholicos Aram I. During the procession, elderly faithful with awful tears and children with innocent smiles kissed the Holy Right Hand of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, presenting their wishes to God and relying on the prayers of the Great Saint. When the procession returned to the Mother Church, the Pontiff and the religious class went up the Altar, where the ceremonious service of water blessing was held with the Right Hand of Saint Gregory the Illuminator. The Catholicos blessed the faithful with the Holy Right Hand of the Patron Saint.

The Catholicos recited the “Paradya” prayer for curing the ill and a special prayer for the strengthening of faith. It said: “We, your pilgrim sons, oh Saint Gregory, the great pilgrim of God, appeal to you from the Cathedral of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias. Oh Illuminating Pontiff, bless our nation in Armenia and the Diaspora under your Holy Right Hand. Bless in particular, your pilgrim people gathered in the Mother Church in Antelias. Erase our sins, cleanse our spiritual and physical faults; grant health to the sick; enlighten the dark paths of our life; flourish with heavenly goods the life of our nation’s children, our families and our Big Family, the life of your honorable people for the brightness of the Holy Armenian Apostolic and Orthodox Church and for the eternity of the Armenian nation.”

After the water blessing service, the Holy Right Hand of Saint Gregory the Illuminator was placed on the main Altar under the watchful eyes of Cilician Brotherhood members. Armenian and foreign faithful visited the Catholicosate until 8:00 OM in the evening to kiss the Relic. After Atchahampouyr, the faithful also visited the Holy Trinity Altar, kneeling before the Relic of Saint Gregory the Illuminator and praying to God in this sacred area.