On Friday, September 8, the Armenian Church commemorates the Feast of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God. The birth of the Holy Mother is not recorded in the Bible; the account of this event comes to us from …
This Sunday, August 27, the second Sunday after Assumption, is the feast of the Discovery of the Belt of the Theotokos. Because there are no relics of the Holy Mother’s earthly body (she was assumed into Heaven), her personal belongings became the object of devotion and veneration.
The Feast of Shoghagat of Holy Etchmiadzin commemorates the inauguration of the Cathedral of the Mother See. The fifth century Greek historian Agathangelos tells us of St. Gregory the Illuminator’s divine vision, wherein our Lord Jesus Christ descends from Heaven and strikes the ground with His golden hammer.
On Sunday, August 13, the Armenian Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption (Verapokhoum) of the Holy Mother of God and the Blessing of the Grapes. The word verapokhoum in classical Armenian means “transport up.”
The Blessing of the Grapes takes place on the Feast of the Assumption, although there is no connection between the two. Similar to other holidays, it coincides with a pagan era festival, which the Church Fathers incorporated into the liturgical calendar.
