The Feast of St. Ghevond the Priest and His Companions in Javakheti |
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According to tradition, the Feast of St. Ghevond the Priest and His Companions is also a day to celebrate all clergy who serve God's people in their example. On February 21, 2017, at the Surb Khach (Holy Cross) Church in Akhalkalaki, under the presidency of Very Rev. Fr. Babken Salbiyan, the Prelate of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Tsalka's General Prelacy of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated. The celebrant was Rev. Father Yeghishe Harutyunyan, Pastor of Akhalkalaki and nearby villages. Rev. Father Hakob Sahakyan, Spiritual Supervisor of Akhaltsikhe; Rev. Father Yeghia Tazayan, Pastor of the village Damala; Rev. Father Tatev Marukyan, Pastor of Akhalkalaki and nearby villages; Rev. Father Armash Poghosyan, Pastor of Ninotsminda and nearby villages; Rev. Father Tigran Mkhitaryan, Pastor of Diliska and nearby villages; Rev. Father Tadeos Ter-Mkrtchyan, Pastor of Arakova and nearby villages; assistant to the sacristan of the Surb Sarkis Church in Ninotsminda, Deacon Atanas Kirakosyan attended the Divine Liturgy. During the Divine Liturgy, Rev. Father Tatev Marukyan gave opening remarks, he congratulated the clergymen of the Samtskhe-Javakheti and Tsalka's General Prelacy of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia on the occasion of the feast and conveyed the blessing and best wishes of the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, to the attendees. Later, Rev. Father Hakob Sahakyan preached about the mystery of the day. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Very Rev. Father Babken Salbiyan congratulated the clergymen on the occasion of the feast, wishing them success in their mission, for the glory of God and the vibrancy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. The Feast of St. Ghevond the Priest and His Companions is dedicated to the blessed memory of the Armenian priests who fought alongside St. Vartan and the entire Armenian Nation for their Christian faith in 451 A.D. in the Battle of Avarayr. The eldest among them was Priest St. Ghevond. After the Battle of Avarayr the Persian King Hazkert took revenge on Armenians and ordered to kill the brave priests. The Persian King Hazkert became convinced that it is not possible to force the Armenian man to renounce his Church and the Christian faith. |