Pilgrimage on the Occasion of the Birth of St. Mary from Anna |
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The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates the Birth of the Holy Mother of God on September 8. This feast is celebrated on the same day each year. The feast was celebrated with a pilgrimage in the Armenian Diocese in Georgia. On September 8, 2017, led by the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, a group of Armenian faithful of the St. Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi made a pilgrimage to the Surb Astvatsatsin Church (Holy Mother of God) in Small Daghet village of Tetritskaro region in Georgia. On the road the Armenian faithful of Tbilisi, led by the Diocesan Primate and the clergy, lit candles and raised their prayers in the 19th century Saint Prkich Church in Samshvilde village. The pilgrims attended the Divine Liturgy in the Surb Astvatsatsin Church (Holy Mother of God) in Small Daghet village. The celebrant was Rev. Father Husik Harutyunyan, Pastor of Armenians in Bolnisi and Tetritskaro regions. The members of the choir of the St. Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi performed Armenian sharakans during the liturgy. During the Divine Liturgy Bishop Vazgen offered a sermon reflecting on the mystery of the day – Birth of St. Mary from Anna and Jehoiakim, commented on her commitment to faith. As mother she worried, suffered for her Son, never opposed to God very well understanding the importance of the mission entrusted to her by God. The Diocesan Primate exhorted the attendees, inspired by the virtue and the Light of the Holy Mother of God, to continue to live guided by the commandments of the Holy Gospel and the messages of the Church. The Diocesan Primate mentioned that this day is of special importance, as in 1991, after being ordained as a celibate priest and 40 days of spiritual preparation, on this day, September 8, he conducted his first Divine Liturgy at the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. The faithful listened to the sermon with great interest and took Holy Communion. Daghet, Daghet Khachen is an Armenian-populated village in Tetritskaro region in Georgia. Armenians from Khachen province of Karabakh founded the village. There is the 18th century Holy Mother of God Church in the village, which had been closed for decades and was in poor condition, but due to charitable activities of Arsen Agamiryan, Seyran Perikhanyan, Artem Arushanyan and Levon Karakhanyan, the natives of Daghet village, who are residing Russia, the House of God has been restored and in 2013 the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia consecrated the church. |