Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Feast of St. Vartan the Captain and his Companions

On February 27, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the Feast of St. Vartan the Captain and his Companions. On this occasion, a Holy Liturgy was served at the Cathedral of the Nativity, presided over by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

Very Rev. Fr. Senior Archimandrite Shahe Ananyan, Dean of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary and Vaskenian Theological Academy, was the officiating priest.

The sacred ceremony was attended by diocesan leaders, monks of the Mother See, and numerous faithful Armenians.

In his sermon, Reverend touched upon the mystery of the feast of St. Vartan, noting in particular, “The mystery of the feast is great not because it is a church holiday or the commemoration of a great battle, but because it awakens in all of us two most important concepts, the most necessary for our existence: patriotism and love of God. The 1036 martyrs are the collective symbol of everything that has been lacking in us in all centuries and has been considered the supreme virtue in all times: love of God and patriotism.”