Dear Parishioners & Friends of St. Gregory the Illuminator Parish,
Now that summer is upon us, I find if of great importance to remind you all that it is still important to attend Divine Liturgy regularly. Yes, activities do tend to slow down during the hot summer months, but the importance of practicing our faith as Armenian Christians must not be forgotten at any time during the year.
Two major feast days (on par with Christmas and Easter in terms of significance) of the Armenian Apostolic Church year are coming up within the next few weeks. This Sunday, July 11, 2010, we will celebrate the Feast of the Holy Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ with great solemnity and reverence. On Sunday, August 15, 2010, we will celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God. On this day, following the joyous Divine Liturgy and Blessing of Grapes ceremony, our parish's annual Blessing of the Grapes Picnic will take place at the St. Gregory Community Center, from 12:30 to 3:30 PM.
The Feast of the Holy Transfiguration of our Lord, Jesus Christ (sometimes called "Vartavar" in Armenian) commemorates the event in the life of Christ in which he was transfigured to a radiant, luminous form in front of three of his disciples, thus showing the divine glory of God the Father. We read about it in the following excerpt from the Gospel of St. Matthew:
"Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist." Matthew 17:1-13
From the very beginning, the Feast of the Transfiguration has held a prominent place in the calendar of the Armenian Apostolic Church and is considered one of five major "Daghavar" feast days throughout the year. The others are Easter, Christmas, Assumption, and the Exaltation of the Cross. Thus, since most of you wouldn't dream of missing church on Easter, there's no logical reason why you would miss church on Transfiguration either!!!!
Please make a committment to God and to yourself to attend Divine Liturgy during the summer months, and please consider it a sacred obligation to participate in the two major feast days mentioned above.
Prayerfully,
Fr. Stephan
