HOLY WEEK OBSERVED AT ST. JOHN, GREENFIELD

By David Luhrssen

With the Opening of the Doors on the morning of April 2, the curtains that had concealed the altar for 40 days were finally drawn. Lent had ended and Holy Week began by commemorating Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on the final week before his crucifixion.

The bema at St. John the Baptist Armenian Church was decorated with palm fans and palm branches were distributed to the faithful following the liturgy. Afterward, the community gathered in the Culture Hall for the annual Palm Sunday brunch, a fundraiser for the parish’s Sunday School.

Thursday brought one of the most moving rites in the Armenian tradition, the Washing of the Feet. Rev. Fr. Guregh Hambardzumyan washed the feet of 12 young boys from the community, reenacting Jesus’ washing the feet of His disciples. The ceremony symbolized the humility and service expected from the followers of Christ. Afterward, Fr. Guregh performed the Vigil representing the disciples who kept watch with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed.

On Holy Friday, the solemn Sharagans and rites of the Burial Service of Our Lord Jesus Christ were performed before the flower-covered Tomb of Jesus. Afterward, worshippers took flowers home from the Tomb.

On Holy Saturday, Fr. Guregh presided over the Lighting of the Lamps (Jrakalouyts) and Reading of the Prophecies, followed by divine liturgy.

St. John’s sanctuary was crowded to capacity as Holy Week culminated on Easter Sunday. In his sermon, Fr. Guregh discussed the uniqueness of the Christian story. The world’s other religions were founded by men who died, but no other religion speaks of being founded by a man, the Son of God, who died and was resurrected. He described the empty Cross and empty Tomb of the first Easter as symbols of His conquest of darkness, evil and death; Easter is the climax of the Christian story, the center point of all true and apostolic Christianity. After liturgy, the members and friends of St. John gathered in the Culture Hall for a potluck lunch, reviving the tradition of the community assembling together for a meal on Easter Sunday after the time of fasting had ended.