Tag Archive for: EVE OF GREAT LENT

EVE OF GREAT LENT

Poon Paregentan is the last Sunday preceding the six-week, forty-day period of Great Lent. It falls seven weeks prior to the Resurrection (Easter Sunday) and, along with the Feast of the Resurrection (Easter), is a moveable feast within an interval of thirty-five days between February 1 and March 7.

The theme of Poon Paregentan is recalling man’s life of perfect harmony with God in the Garden of Eden before his fall from Grace. The hymns and odes of the day recall the story of God creating mankind in His image and likeness, placing man sinless in a bountiful garden paradise and allowing him to share in His divinity. The Lenten period of strict fasting, penance and reconciliation ultimately prepares us for Easter—the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Read more

BISHOP MESROP’S LENTEN MESSAGE 2025

We have entered the Season of Lent, and I want you to know that I will be praying for each and every one of you as you take this journey of reflection and preparation for the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ at Easter.
Great Lent is a time of many rich traditions in our Armenian Apostolic Church. It’s a time to engage in prayer, fasting, and giving—practices that open the door to God’s grace. I encourage you to take part in them and to be enriched in your spiritual life. Open yourself to the great love that God has for you. Listen for His voice and where it calls you.

Lent also reminds us of our need for repentance and the honest recognition that we are sinners who fall short of God’s glory. To many in the modern world, the very concept of sin seems old-fashioned. Yet, sin is part of our human nature; brokenness is our human condition.

Read more

POON PAREGENTAN

Poon Paregentan, similar to Mardi Gras or “Fat Tuesday,” occurs on the Sunday before the Great Lent (Medz Bahk) in preparation for Easter. We celebrate Poon Paregentan (meaning vitality or the good life), which leads us into the longest season of fasting, known as the Great Lent. The Sunday prior to this great feast is when we remember the Good Life in paradise prior to Adam and Eve’s expulsion…

Read more