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This week at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Supreme Spiritual Council held its winter meeting, presided over by His Holiness Karekin II. With its adjournment on March 3, the Council released its report, which includes announcements that will be greeted as welcome news to the entire Armenian Church, and to the faithful of our Diocese in particular. We wish to share them with you here…
The Armenian Church remembers St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, a fourth century Bishop of Myra, Lycia in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Nicholos was a defender of orthodoxy and because of many miracles attributed to his intercession he is called “the Wonderworker.” He was a secret and generous giver of gifts, and some believe …
This morning, I woke up to the sound of the bells of Holy Etchmiadzin. I arrived at the Mother See last night for the Supreme Spiritual Council meeting. As the bells chimed, I felt the weight of centuries in their echoes. These bells proclaim the endurance of a people, the unbroken faith of a nation. This is where you realize that faith isn’t just an idea; it’s living, breathing, and holding us together like a mother embracing her children.
Etchmiadzin, this holy sanctuary, has been the soul of our people. She has stood steadfast through the storms of history, watching over her children who have lived through the centuries with many pains and only little joys. She has witnessed our triumphs, but more often, she has wept with us in our suffering. And yet, she has never abandoned her children.
Konstantin Orbelian, a music prodigy, became one of the mainstays of Armenian jazz in the twentieth century.
He was born on July 29, 1928, in the town of Armavir (North Caucasus). His musical talents became clear at an early age. He was sent to a school for gifted children at the Baku Conservatory, but he studied there for a short time. His father was arrested and shot during the Stalin purges in 1936. Two years later, his mother was arrested and sentenced to five years of exile. Their children Haroutioun and Konstantin became “children of people’s enemies” overnight.
Eleven-year-old Konstantin Orbelian was immediately expelled from the musical school and had to earn some living as a musical accompanist to gymnasts.