The “Khavaroom” or Vigil Service at the Armenian Diocese in Georgia |
On March 24, 2016, on Great and Holy Thursday, following morning services, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the functioning churches of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia. The celebrant priests delivered the homily in remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ’s Last Supper and the establishment of the sacrament of Holy Communion. Later, the Washing of the Feet service was offered as a remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ washing the feet of his twelve disciples as a sign of humility. The Fathers of the Diocesan Armenian churches, following the example of Christ, knelt down on the Bema, in front of the Church altar, and washed and anointed the feet of twelve children while the singing of the hymns was performed. At the conclusion of the service, blessed butter was distributed to the parish. In the evening of the Holy Thursday, the “Khavaroom” or Vigil Service was delivered, which is the introduction to Good Friday. It symbolizes the Crucifixion and Burial of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the churches of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, in the Cathedral of Saint George in particular, during the service under the presidency of His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, the Gospel readings recalling the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane, His betrayal, subsequent arrest, and the denial by Peter took place. In his sermon, during the “Khavaroom” or Vigil Service in the Saint Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi, Very Rev. Father Khoren Hovhannisyan called on the faithful to make a vow of adherence to Christ, to live with Christian love and never betray Jesus. The “Khavaroom” or Vigil Service was delivered in all the churches of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Holy Church in Georgia.
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