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Liturgical life of the Armenian Church
Saints and Feasts of the Armenian Apostolic Church
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The Annunciation of Virgin Mary, by Sargis Pidzak, 1280, Hromkla, Cilicia, Matenadaran collection
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The Present Form of the Armenian Calendar: The Armenian Typicon (տոնացույց), in use in the Armenian Church today, received its final shape in the time of Catholicos Simeon of Erevan, who first published it in 1775. The Armenian Church adopted the Gregorian calendar on November 6, 1923, with the exception of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem where, because of “the status quo of the Holy Land” the Julian calendar is still followed.
The Armenian Church calendar year begins with the Feast of the Nativity and Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ celebrated on January 6, as a fixed date. Easter, is the central feast of the Armenian Church celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Easter date, which varies between March 22 and April 25, determines the dates of all other movable feasts.
There is an interesting mechanism inherent in the Armenian calendar which differs from the calendar systems of other churches. In all other Christian communities (except for the Chaldaeans), all feasts other than the movable cycle of Easter and the feasts which depend upon it are celebrated on a fixed date each year. The Armenian Church has developed a different system, based on the weekly cycle. This is a remnant of the earlier tradition in which the days of the week, especially Sunday (and later the fast days Wednesday and Friday) were the controlling element in Christian festive celebration.
The Armenian calendar respects this primitive practice according to which the feasts of the saints can never be celebrated on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday. All saints have a date assigned for remembrance in the “synaxarium”, when that date falls on a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, the commemoration must be transferred in the very next festive day. Some important feasts of Our Lord and the Virgin are transferred to the Sunday nearest their fixed date.
Consequently, about 150 days of the year are put aside for tasting and penance. In those days, saints cannot be celebrated. Another 150 (or so) days remain for the commemoration and celebration of the saints. The feasts of the Lord are observed during the remaining days of the year. Though most of the feast days are movable, there are specific feasts that are celebrated on fixed dates. These are mostly feasts related to our Lord Jesus Christ and to Virgin Mary the Mother of God. Hence, all feast days in the Armenian calendar are movable, except for the following:
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The Feasts with a Fixed Date
1. Theophany and Nativity (January 6)
2. Presentation of the Lord to the Temple (February 14)
3. Annunciation (April 7)
4. Feast of the Birth of St. Mary the Virgin (September 8)
5. Presentation of the Holy Mother of God (November 21)
6. Conception of the Virgin Mary by St. Anne (December 9)
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Except for the feast of Theophany and Nativity, borrowed from the Byzantines at an early date, and the feast of the Presentation of the Lord to the Temple, these fixed commemorations were introduced into the Armenian calendar during the Middle Ages. The Annunciation and Birth of St. Mary the Virgin were introduced during the 13th century, and the Presentation and Conception were accepted in the 17th century. In the liturgical life of the Armenian Church, all other feasts are celebrated on a different date each year, even though they may have a fixed date assigned to them according to the synaxarium.
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The five Cardinal “Daghavar” Feasts
In the calendar of the Armenian Church, there are five major dominical feasts which are considered as “cardinal feasts”, better known in Armenian as “Daghavar”. These are the following:
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1. Christmas – Epiphany
2. Easter
3. Transfiguration – “Vartavar”
4. Assumption (Dormition) of Virgin Mary
5. Exaltation of the Holy Cross
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Daghavars are celebrated on Sundays. The day following each Daghavar is designated as a memorial day for the diseased ones. The week preceding each Daghavar is a week of fast. With the exception of Easter, where there exists a seven week fast known as the Great Fast or the Great Lent.
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The Annunciation of Virgin Mary the Mother of God, 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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The liturgical year of the Armenian Church
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The present Armenian system was fully developed by the 12th century. The liturgical year of the Armenian Church is divided into four sections:
A. The Period of Theophany (Advent)
B. The Great Period of Pascha (Eastertide)
C. The Period of Transfiguration (Assumption-Tide)
D. The Great Period of Extra-Pascha (Exaltation-Tide)
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Each of the above sections of the liturgical year has its epicenter in the celebration of:
a. Christmas – Theophany
b. Easter
c. Transfiguration
d. Exaltation of the Holy Cross
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The Armenian Annual Cycle
Alternatively, the liturgical year of the Armenian Church is divided into eight great periods or seasons, namely:
1. Theophany and Nativity
2. Lent
3. Easter
4. Pentecost
5. Transfiguration
6. Assumption of Virgin Mary
7. Exaltation of the Holy Cross
8. Advent
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This annual cycle also manifests primitive traits, since all its seasons (with the exception of Epiphany) are moveable and vary in strict dependence on the cycle’s primary element, the annual paschal cycle. But the Armenian annual cycle, like the East Syrian or Chaldean, also shows further evolution compared to the Roman or Byzantine calendars. For while the former have filled the entire year with specific periods or seasons, the Roman calendar. For example, distinguishes only the lenten-paschal cycle and Advent from the rest of the year, which is just “ordinary time.”
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The Armenian Weekly Cycle
In the Armenian tradition there are three types of commemorations during the week:
I. Dominical feasts (Derunagan): All Sundays are dedicated to the feasts of the Lord. The commemoration of the saints may never be celebrated on Sundays. Some important fixed Dominical feasts and the feasts of the Holy Virgin are transferred to the Sunday nearest their fixed date.
II. Feasts of the saints (Srbots): The feasts of the saints are distributed over Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Notable saints’ days occur on Saturdays. Dominical feasts or days of abstinence may also be observed on these four days of the week.
III. Days of abstinence (Bahots): Wednesdays and Fridays are the days of abstinence, on which the feasts of the saints are not commemorated. The character of the office during these two days of the week is penitential. Wednesdays are dedicated to the Annunciation and Incarnation, Fridays to the Crucifixion.
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The Entry into Jerusalem , 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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Classification of the feasts and fasts of the Armenian Apostolic Church
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» Dominical Feasts
» Feasts of Saints
» Fasting Days
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Dominical Feasts of the Armenian Church
Feasts that are related to the events of the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ as well as the feasts of Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the feasts related to the Holy and life-giving Cross and to the Holy Apostolic Church. Thus, the dominical feasts are divided into four groups:
1. Feasts of Jesus Christ
2. Feasts of Virgin Mary
3. Feasts of the Holy Cross
4. Feasts of the Holy Church
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The Crucifixion of our Lord, 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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Feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ
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1. Nativity and Theophany
– Nativity (Christmas) and Baptism – January 6 (fixed date)
– Naming of our Lord Jesus Christ (8th Day of Nativity) – January 13
– Presentation of the Lord to the Temple – February 14 (fixed date)
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2. Resurrection (Easter)
The dates of the feasts which are related to the celebration of Holy Easter are movable. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring Equinox. Since 1923 the Armenian Church has been using the new Gregorian calendar, with the exception of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem where, because of “the status quo of the Holy Land” the Julian calendar is still followed. Celebrations related to the resurrection of Christ include:
– Remembrance of Christ’s Raising Lazarus
– Palm Sunday and the Holy Week
– The 40-day period from Easter to Ascension
– Feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ
– Pentecost (7 Sundays after Easter)
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3. Transfiguration (“Vartavar”)
The feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord is a movable feast according to Armenian liturgical calendar. It is not commemorated on a fixed date (August 6). But, it is celebrated 14 Sundays after Easter.
Vartavar: Although now a tradition connected to the celebration of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ, Vardavar’s history dates back to pagan times. The ancient festival is traditionally associated with the ancient goddess Astghik, who was the goddess of water, beauty, love and fertility. The festivities associated with this religious observance of Astghik were named “Vartavar” because Armenians offered her roses as a celebration (vart means “rose” in Armenian and var mean “rise”). For this reason, Vartavar was celebrated in the harvest time. During the day of Vardavar, it is a tradition, people from a wide array of ages to douse each other, even the strangers, with water.
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The Visitation, 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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Feasts of Virgin Mary the Holy Mother of God
“Sourp Asdvadzadzin” – “Theotokos”
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1. Annunciation of Theotokos – April 7 (fixed date)
2. Discovery of the Box of Holy Virgin Mary (fifth Sunday after Pentecost)
3. Assumption (Dormition) of Theotokos (on the Sunday closest to August 15)
4. Discovery of the Belt of Holy Virgin Mary (second Sunday of the Assumption)
5. Birth of the Holy Virgin Mary – September 8 (fixed date)
6. Presentation to the Temple – November 21 (fixed date)
7. Conception of Holy Virgin Mary – December 9 (fixed date)
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The Resurrection of our Lord, 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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Feasts of the Holy Cross
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1. The miracle of the Apparition of the Holy Cross (fourth Sunday after Easter)
On May 7 in the year 351, in the feast of Pentecost, at about 9 in the morning, those living in Jerusalem witnessed an intensely illumined cross that appeared over the city of Jerusalem. Tongues of flame were roaring across the horizon forming a gigantic blazing Cross in the sky. The apparition, “brighter than the sun” extended from Golgotha to the Mount of Olives, in a span of about two miles. This phenomenon remained visible for several hours, witnessed by the total of the population of Jerusalem. St Cyril the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who witnessed the phenomenon by himself, gives testimony of this sign in his letter to the Byzantine Emperor Constantius describing it as a miraculous sign from heavens.
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2. Exaltation of the Holy Cross (on the Sunday closest to September 14)
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, comemorates three major historical events related with the True Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: a) the miraculous finding of the True Cross in Jerusalem by St. Helena, the mother of the Byzantine emperor Constantine; b) the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary; and c) the restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem in AD 629 by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius.
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3. Holy Cross of Varak (2nd Sunday of the Exaltation)
On the third Sunday of Exaltation, the Armenian Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Cross of Varak. On this day, it is commemorated the discovery of a fragment of the True Cross, on Mount Varak, near lake Van, in the historical province of Vaspurakan. The old Armenian tradition tells that in the 7th century, while praying on Mount Varak, a hermit named Thotig, had a vision. He saw a shining cross with light radiating around it on top of the mountain. The light indicated the place where St Hripsime had hidden a fragment of the True Cross three centuries ago. In that place, was later built (in the 11th century) the famous monastery of the Holy Cross of Varak – “Varagavank”. The monastic complex was vandalized, burnt and turned into ruins during the massacres of the Armenian Genocide in 1915. The fragment of the True Cross of Varak has been lost for ever.
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4. Discovery of the Holy Cross by St Helen (Seventh Sunday of the Exaltation)
This specific feast is dedicated to the commemoration of the miraculous finding of the True Cross in Jerusalem by St. Helena, the mother of the Byzantine emperor Constantine. It is celebrated separately from the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, on the 7th Sunday after the Exaltation.
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The Ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord into Heaven, 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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Feasts of the Holy Church
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1. New Sunday (first Sunday after Easter)
2. Green Sunday (second Sunday after Easter)
3. Red Sunday (third Sunday after Easter)
4. Feast of the Holy Echmiadzin (second Sunday after Pentecost)
5. Commemoration of the Old Ark of the covenant (Saturday prior to Transfiguration)
6. The Feast of the New Ark – the Holy Church (Saturday prior to Transfiguration)
7. “Shoghagat”- Feast of the Apparition of Holy Echmiadzin (Saturday preceding the Assumption)
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The Holy Apostles, 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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Feasts of Saints
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According to the liturgical calendar of the Armenian Apostolic Church, saints are commemorated on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and on Saturdays, except during the period of the Great Lent when saints are commemorated on Saturdays only, and during the Eastertide period when no saints feasts are commemorated. Thus, all feasts are celebrated on a different date each year, even though they may have a fixed date assigned to them according to the synaxarium.
The Easter date, which varies between March 22 and April 25, determines the dates of all other movable feasts. In specific cases, in the years when Easter is celebrated in March or in early April, feasts to be celebrated in mid or late February, are transfered later within the calendar year, and celebrated soon after the end of lenten-paschal cycle, as long as no saints feasts shall be celebrated during the Eastertide period.
In specific cases, such as St John the Baptist and St. Gregory the Illuminator, the Armenian Church celebrates their feast more than once within the calendar year, as long as more than one events related to their life are commemorated. This is due to the great respect and the vast importance that these saints bear for the Armenian Church.
It is also notable that apart from the Nativity of Jesus (January 6) and the Birth of Virgin Mary (September 8), the Armenian Church celebrates also the birth of St John the Baptist (observed on the Saturday closest to January 14). As a rule, the Armenian Church does not celebrate the birth of the saints. The rebirth of the saints through their martyrdom is celebrated instead.
It is notable also the importance of the feast of St Stephen the Protomartyr (closest feast day to December 27). Being the very first martyr of the Church (Protomartyr) St Stephen is being commemorated in the Armenian divine liturgy right after the St John the Baptist, and right before St Gregory the Illuminator – the founder of the Armenian Church.
The Easter date determines the dates of all other movable feasts. Saints who were sanctified and introduced in the Church calendar before the 5th century are recognized and celebrated unanimously by the Church. For those Saints who were introduced in the Armenian Church calendar after the 5th century, differences are observed between the calendar of the Armenian Apostolic Church and calendars of other Christian Churches.
In April 24, as a fixed date, the Armenian Church commemorates the memory of the Holy Martyrs of Armenian Genocide of 1915.
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The Holy Apostles, 915 – 921, from the Holy Altar of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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Days of Fasting and Abstinence
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There are two levels of fasting:
A. Abstinence from meat, dairy and animal products – “bahk”
B. Total abstinence – “dzom”
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Fasting days are classified as follows:
A. Daily Fast: all Wednesdays and Fridays. Exempted are the forty days of Eastertide period (from Easter to Ascension), and the period during the octave of the Holy Theophany (January 6 -13)
B. The Fast of Great Lent and Holy Week (7 weeks): The Great fast (“medz bahk”) starts on the first day of the Great Lent, and it continues until the Great Saturday.
C. Weeklong Fasts: There are ten weeklong fasting periods preceding major feasts and special commemorations, which are observed from Monday through Friday, except for the fast of the Nativity which lasts for six days:
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Weeklong fasts
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1. Fast of Nativity – Theophany (week prior to Christmas Eve)
2. Fast of the Catechumens (week prior to “Poon Paregentan” Eve of Great Lent)
3. Fast of Prophet Elijah (week prior to the 7th Sunday of Easter)
4. Fast of St. Gregory the Illuminator (week prior to the Eve of Pentecost)
5. Fast of Transfiguration (week prior to the Eve of Transfiguration)
6. Fast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God (week prior to the Eve of Assumption)
7. Fast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (week prior to the Eve of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross)
8. Fast of the Holy Cross of Varak (week prior to the 2nd Sunday of Exaltation)
9. Fast of Advent (week prior to the 1st Sunday of Advent)
10. Fast of St. Hagop (St Jacob) (week prior to the 4st Sunday of Advent)
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All fasts of the Armenian liturgical calendar are dedicated to the commemoration of the suffering and the crucifixion of our Lord who died on the Cross, and he resurrected on the third day, for the redemption of our sins and for our salvation.
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The Holy Apostles, 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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Christ Pantokrator and Virgin Mary Mother of God, surrounded by angels. Stone embossments, 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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Christ Pantokrator and Virgin Mary Mother of God. Stone embossments (detail), 915 – 921, Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar island, Lake Van
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"I Confess With Faith" Saint Nerses Shnorhali - the Gracious (1102 - 1173) "ՀԱՎԱՏՈՎ ԽՈՍՏՈՎԱՆԻՄ" Ս. ՆԵՐՍԵՍԻ ՇՆՈՐՀԱԼԻՈՅ 