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On Tuesday, August 26, the Armenian Church commemorates Saints Joachim and Anna, parents of Mary, the mother of Christ. Joachim, son of Barpathir, was a descendant of King David, to whom God had revealed that the Savior of the world would be born through his descendants.
Have you ever found yourself at Grand Central Terminal or any busy train station during rush hour? If you have, you know what it’s like—waves of people surging in every direction. The noise, the urgency, the momentum. It’s a river, and once you’re in it, it can feel like you’re swept along whether you like it or not. There’s barely time to think, let alone to pause.
But in that fast-moving crowd, have you ever seen someone stop? Maybe they’re looking at a map or checking the signs. And in that moment of stillness, something powerful happens. They refuse to be carried by the crowd. They choose to find their direction before they move.
On Sunday, August 17, 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.”
There’s an old story about a man who was down on his hands and knees under a streetlamp one evening, searching for something. A passerby saw him and asked, “What are you looking for?” The man replied, “I lost my key.” Wanting to help, the passerby got down and began searching as well.
After a few minutes, he asked, “Are you sure you lost it here?” The man said, “No, I lost it inside my house.” Puzzled, the passerby asked, “Then why are you looking out here?” The man smiled and said, “Because there’s more light out here.”
Richard Yardumian was an Armenian-American classical music composer who was associated to Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra for two decades.
Yardumian was born in Philadelphia on April 5, 1917. He was the youngest of ten children and began studying the piano at a very early age. His father, Rev. Haig Yardumian, was the founding pastor of the Philadelphia Armenian Evangelical community and his mother, Lucia, was a teacher and organist.
One of his brothers, Elijah Yardumian, a concert pianist who graduated from the Curtis Institute, served as a musical mentor. Richard Yardumian began composing at age 14 and began a formal study of piano, harmony, theory and …
A Sunday school teacher once had a discussion with a person who firmly believed that children should not be given formal religious instruction but should be free to choose their own religious faith when they reached maturity.
The teacher, not wanting to disagree outright, decided to demonstrate her point. She invited the person to see her garden. As they walked in, the visitor was taken aback. “Do you call this a garden?” he exclaimed. “There is nothing but weeds here!”
The teacher, with a gentle smile, replied, “Well, you see, I did not wish to infringe upon the liberty of the garden in any way. I was giving the garden a chance to express itself.”
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.
Vardges Petrosian was one of the remarkable authors of the group of “young prose-writers” in Armenia in the 1960s-1980s.
He was born on August 9, 1932, in the town of Ashtarak, where he spent his childhood, went to school, and began writing poetry. In 1954, he graduated from the journalism department of Yerevan State University and, after a stint as editorial secretary of the regional newspaper of Kamo (Gavar, 1954–1955), he worked as correspondent for the daily Sovetakan Hayastan (1955-1957) and as editorial secretary and later deputy editor of the bi-weekly Avangard (1957-1961). He was editor of the children weekly Pioner Kanch (1961-1966) and the founding editor-in-chief of the literary and youth monthly Garun.
In Romania, I visited the famous Voroneț Monastery, often referred to as the “Sistine Chapel of the East.” The church is entirely covered—inside and out—with vibrant frescoes. You see saints, angels, and powerful scenes from Scripture: Noah and the Ark, the Resurrection, the Last Judgment. It’s absolutely breathtaking.
What’s even more remarkable is that these frescoes were painted in the 15th and 16th centuries—more than 500 years ago. Over the centuries, they’ve endured snow, rain, wind, and the passage of time. The colors have faded a little, yes, but the message remains. The beauty still resonates. The stories still speak.
The Armenian Church commemorates the 200 Holy Fathers of the Council of Ephesus (431 AD). Ephesus, the third general ecumenical council, was convened by order of Emperor Theodosius II to settle the Nestorian heresy. A large number of high-ranking church leaders attended, headed by Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria.
