Morning Service
10:00 AM
Holy Badarak
10:30 AM
Celebrant
Rev. Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan
Ushers
Mrs. Nora Shafakian and Mrs.
Anna Seferian
Parish Council Members on Duty
Ms. Sarine Zenian, Dr. Ara Avedisian,
Mr. Mark Krikorian
Choir
Mrs. Edita Kalayjian
Organist
Mrs. Karine Muradyan
Bible Reading
Isaiah 54:11-55:13, 2 Corinthians 6:17:1,
Luke 15:1-32
|
|
HOKEHANKIST
REQUIEM SERVICE
|
HOKEHANKIST
REQUIEM SERVICE
For the Souls of:
Dorothy Chakarian Hartmann
Virginia Keljikian
Zarie Keosian
Requested by:
Dale Chakarian Turza and Peter Turza and Family; Helen Krikorian; Mark Krikorian and Family; and David Krikorian and Family
Hospitality Table to be Hosted by:
Dale Chakarian Turza and Peter Turza in memory of their Loved ones
-------------------------------------------------
To request a Hokehankist/Requiem Service
Please contact the Church Office
by 12:00 Noon on Thursday
202-363-1923 or
|
|
Veil of Separation -
The Altar Curtain in the
Armenian Church
|
During Great Lent, the altar curtain remains closed in the Armenian Church to symbolize man's expulsion from the Garden of Eden and to emphasize the spirit of repentance and forbearance characterizing the 40-day period preceding Holy Week. Many churches replace the traditional altar curtain with dark and simple drapery bearing little or no embroidery.
|
St. Mary Armenian Church
Annual Journal 2018
is Now Available Online
Click here to view the various events and activities that took place in 2018
Hard copy of the Annual Journal 2018 is available for purchase in
St. Mary Gift Shop |
ST. MARY ANNUAL
PARISH ASSEMBLY
|
|
ST. MARY ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY
took place on Sunday, February 10.
|
|
Part-Time Church Maintenance Supervisor Opportunity
|
St. Mary Church is looking for a part-time church building maintenance supervisor.
If interested and would like to know more details, please contact the church office by email
[email protected] or
call
202-363-1923.
|
|
St. Mary Armenian Church
WED Educational
Fund Scholarship
|
Application for WED Educational Fund Scholarship is now available at St. Mary website www.stmaryaac.org. The application deadline for the 2019-20 academic year is
May 31, 2019.
|
|
Diocese Now Accepting
Scholarship Applications
|
Applications for Diocesan scholarships are now available online. The application deadline for the 2019-20 academic year is May 17, 2019.
Each year the Diocese awards scholarships to promising youth who are headed to college. The Diocese seeks students who are active in their local parishes and have assumed leadership roles in their communities.
Click here to access the scholarship application. For information, contact Maria Barsoumian at (212) 686-0710.
|
2019 DC Francophonie Festival
March 20, 27, April 3 and 10
Every Wednesday during Lenten Period
Worship Service, Spiritual Discussion and Lenten Dinner
March 23
Saintly Women's Guild Day
March 29
Town Hall meeting wit
Armenian Defense Minister
Mr. Davit Tonoyan
Women's Guild
Annual Mid-Lenten Luncheon
April 3
Wish for a Cure Gala
April 7
The Trial of Soghomon Tehlirian,
A Play by Perch Zeytuntsyan
April 14
Palm Sunday
April 14, 18, 19, 20 and 21
Holy Week and Easter Schedule
May 18
Welcome Bishop Daniel Back to America
|
|
CALENDAR OF FEASTS & EVENTS
|
March 20, 27, April 3 and 10
Every Wednesday during Lenten Period
Worship Service, Spiritual Discussion and Lenten Dinner
March 23
Women's Guild Saintly Women's Day
March 31
Womens' Guild Annual
Mid-Lenten Luncheon
April 7
Annunciation to the Virgin Mary
April 7
The Trial of Soghomon Tehlirian
A Play by
Perch Zeytuntsyan
April 14
Palm Sunday
April 21
Easter Sunday
April 24
Feast of the Holy Martyrs of
the Armenian Genocide
April 26
Dr. Akcam Lecture, at St. Mary Church
(Details to follow)
May 17-19
Spring Food Festival
May 25
Ararat Avak Society Brunch
May 30
Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ
|
|
FAR's New Nurses Training Program Helps Those Who Are Affected by War in Artsakh
After attending FAR's Training Program for Nurses in Artsakh, Bagyum Avanesyan, R.N., has put her new-found skills to good use, sadly due to the impacts of war. Bagyum and her family were one of many who had to flee their homes as it was attacked during the Four-Day War of 2016. Since September of that year, they have been living temporarily in a defunct military hospital. Bagyum has become the de facto healthcare provider for the 540 people who are staying in and around the area, all of whom depend on her.
"The Artsakh program was just 12 days however I became firm friends with many nurses and doctors in this short period. We keep in touch when we need to in order to discuss diseases and diagnoses. I would like such programs to be held more often," said Bagyum. "While more violence could erupt at any time in the region, I now feel that I have a more profound knowledge of first aid than I did before, and that I can handle any task."
To read more, go to: LINK
To
support this project, go to
LINK
|
|
Sunday of the Prodigal Son
This third Sunday of Great Lent takes its lesson from the "Parable of the Prodigal Son"-arguably the most concise, profound, and beautiful of our Lord's statements on the nature of God's love.
In a story of fewer than 600 words (related in Luke 15:11-32), Jesus depicts the follies of our fallen nature, the shame and self-loathing that lie at the heart of human vice, the tender love that can heal a fractured world, and the price such love exacts. And these grand ideas are all conveyed through characters one might find in an ordinary domestic comedy: "There once was a man who had two sons..."
Like all great works of storytelling, this parable invites the reader to approach it at different times in his or her life-as a child, an adult, a sibling, a parent-to experience it anew, and to discover new rewards, new wisdom, with each encounter.
This Sunday in church is the perfect opportunity to have that encounter, and perhaps to engage in the self-examination that is one hallmark of the Lenten season.
To read a meditation on the Prodigal Son,
click here.
Click here to see St. Mary's Worship Service flyer
|
|
Full of Grace
Nearly a thousand years after his death, his influence is still felt every day in the Armenian Church.
Our soaring hymns that praise God; our sensitive prayers that beg His forgiveness; the policies of mercy and outreach that guide the operations of the church-all of these and more still bear the unmistakable mark of St. Nersess Shnorhali.
His title Shnorhali means "full of grace"-and the divine gifts that flowed from Nersess Pahlavuni left behind a legacy of devotional poetry and music unparalleled in Christian history.
But his later years, when he ascended to the throne of Catholicos, were a time of solitude and struggle, as his hopes for a more unified church were opposed from without and from within.
In the latest episode of Living Voices-the Eastern Diocese's new video series exploring great figures of the Armenian Church-the story of St. Nersess is brought to life, through dramatic re-enactments and the stirring narration of Dr. Roberta Ervine.
|
Celebration of the Sixth Anniversary of His Holiness Pope Francis
On Wednesday, March 13, the world celebrated and recognized His Holiness Pope Francis on his 6th year anniversary as he leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and Der Hovsep participated in a celebratory reception at the Vatican Embassy to the United States in Washington, DC. On behalf of our Diocese, Der Hayr congratulated Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio. Many congressmen, ambassadors, diplomats and other dignitaries also attended this event to offer their congratulations.
|
Lenten Service, Discussion and Dinner Series Begins
The second presentation of a six night series took place on Wednesday, March 13. Parishioners and friends came together for a worship service, spiritual presentation and dinner with this year's theme entitled "Leading to Easter: Searching the Soul". The topic concentrates on the journey through Lent meditating on the last three chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. The season of Lent is a season for searching the soul through the lenses of the people closest to Jesus in His last hours. The last three chapters of Matthew are a juxtaposition of stories.
Miss Rebecca Bagdasarian gave a meditation about the Communion-the Lord's Supper found in Matthew 26. She led the audience through the story that gave rise to our observance of the Badarak. It helped everyone to see what makes Communion such a uniquely significant meal.
Toward the end of the service and presentation the parishioners enjoyed each others fellowship and dinner hosted and sponsored by the Women's Guild.
Please, join us next Wednesday and make your Lenten journey more meaningful and fulfilling.
|
|
2019 DC Francophonie Festival
We are thrilled to announce the kick-off of the 2019 DC Francophonie Festival. The Armenian Embassy, in partnership with the French Embassy, La Maison Francaise and the Smithsonian Associates, presents two concerts by Los Angeles-based band Paris Chansons on Saturday, March 16th, at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm at La Maison Francaise (4101 Reservoir Rd., NW, Washington DC 20007) - "A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO AZNAVOUR", plus French classics by Dassin, Piaf, Macias, Adamo, Zaz and others.
Tickets are on sale. Please follow the links below to choose your preferred time and purchase your tickets:
|
Please join us
Every Wednesday during the Lenten Period
LENTEN WORSHIP SERVICE 7:00 PM
SPIRITUAL DISCUSSION 7:30 PM
LENTEN DINNER 8:00 PM
"Leading to Easter: Searching the Soul"
Please join us Wednesdays during Lent for prayer service, spiritual discussion, and dinner.
This year we will journey through Lent meditating on the last three chapters of the Gospel of Matthew.
The season of Lent is a season for searching the soul. As you study Matthew 26-28, you will search your own soul through the lenses of the people closest to Jesus in His last hours. The last three chapters of Matthew are a juxtaposition of stories.
Throughout our journey we will address Communion, Jesus' deserters, His submission to the Father, and His crucifixion. While the theme of rejection runs through these chapters in Matthew, there is good news: joy of the resurrection that you can experience with new eyes.
|
|
I
n Memoriam: His Beatitude Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan (1956-2019)
With profound regret, the Eastern Diocese mourns the passing of His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafyan, the 84th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople and All of Turkey.
Patriarch Mesrob was an impressive clergyman in every respect: learned, physically imposing, resolute in his faith, and courageous in action. He had the appearance of an Armenian hierarch from an earlier, more formal age; yet he was extremely personable, approachable, and open to developments of the modern world. In the earliest days of the Internet, for example, the Patriarch was the first Armenian Church leader to employ e-mail and online chats as a means of communication.
His death on March 8 in Istanbul, at the age of 62 and after a prolonged period of illness, brings to a close the life of a remarkable Armenian clergyman, whose ministry will henceforth stand as an emblem of the hopeful promise of the Armenian Church tradition, as well as the tragic realities that have so often beset our people. May our risen Lord bless his righteous memory.
Diocesan Primate the Very Rev. Fr. Findikyan, who was in Armenia when the news broke, expressed condolences on behalf of the Eastern Diocese in a letter to the Armenian Patriarchate.
The funeral for Patriarch Mesrob on Sunday, March 17, in the main sanctuary of the Patriarchate in Kumpkapi, is scheduled to be broadcast live over the Internet, starting at 4 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (
click here to watch).
In anticipation of an official announcement for a karasoonk date, the Primate encourages our parishes and faithful to offer prayers in memory of the Patriarch.
|
From Every Shire's End, to Canterbury they Wend, to Seek the Blessed Khatchkar
Great Britain's magnificent Canterbury Cathedral-immortalized in Chaucer's 14th-century pilgrimage tales-has become home to a "pilgrim of stone" from Armenia.
On March 2, a ceremony unveiled an Armenian khatchkar in the cathedral's memorial garden. The two-meter tall "cross-stone" was carved in Canterbury, but the raw material of tufa stone was imported from Armenia expressly for the project.
The Canterbury khatchkar was placed in a section of the garden marking end of the First World War. It stands as a memorial both to the Armenian Genocide of 1915, and to the late Archbishop of Canterbury Randall Davidson, whose service in that role (1903-1928) coincided with the Genocide, and who advocated on behalf of the Armenians at the time.
Current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby presided over the dedication service, where Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Primate of the Armenian Church Diocese of the United Kingdom and Ireland, consecrated the khatchkar with holy myron.
|
Primate Meets with Catholicos to Prepare for Ordination as a Bishop
Diocesan Primate the Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan was in Armenia during the past weeks to meet with His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, in preparation for the Primate's upcoming episcopal ordination.
Catholicos Karekin II will consecrate Fr. Findikyan as a bishop of the Armenian Church on the weekend of May 11-12, 2019. The splendid ceremony will take place at Holy Etchmiadzin.
Faithful from throughout the Eastern Diocese are planning to travel to Armenia to share in the occasion. Those wishing to witness the consecration in person can join the special "pilgrimage" to Armenia being sponsored by the Diocese.
The Diocese is offering two travel packages. Both packages arrange for members of the group to take part in the Evening Service on Saturday, May 11; the Divine Liturgy and Ordination on Sunday, May 12; the antranig badarak (inaugural Divine Liturgy) of the newly-ordained Bishop Daniel on Monday, May 13; and a special banquet for American-Armenian pilgrims, in honor of the Primate, on Monday evening.
After his episcopal ordination, the Primate will return to the U.S. to celebrate his first Divine Liturgy as bishop among the faithful of the Eastern Diocese. That service will be on Saturday, May 18, at New York's St. Vartan Cathedral, beginning at 10 a.m., followed by a reception in Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium. Click here to view a flyer with information on the May 18 events
|
Pastoral Moments Among the People of FAR
While he was in Armenia last week, Diocesan Primate Fr. Daniel Findikyan visited projects of the Fund for Armenian Relief. In his capacity as Primate, Fr. Findikyan leads FAR as its board president, and welcomed the opportunity to visit FAR's long-running projects, and to meet face-to-face with the people who operate, and benefit from, FAR's compassionate efforts in the homeland.
He made visits to the Yerevan Children's Center, the Byureghavan Soup Kitchen, and the Parakar Special School for vocational training. At each stop the Primate met the staff, and spent some tender, pastoral moments with the people-children, the needy, and other vulnerable souls-whose welfare lies at the heart of the Fund for Armenian Relief's work.
|
2019 Diocesan Assembly to Meet in Watertown, MA
The 117th Diocesan Assembly will convene May 2-4, 2019, at the Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA. The St. James Church of Watertown, MA, will host the Diocesan Assembly, the concurrent Women's Guild Assembly, and the Clergy Conference (meeting April 29-May 1), bringing together hundreds of Armenian Church leaders from the Eastern Diocese. Diocesan Primate the Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan will preside.
Clergy, Diocesan delegates, and parish council chairs will soon receive notification (via mail and e-mail) regarding registration. Information on the 117th Diocesan Assembly-including online registration and room reservations-will be available on the St. James parish website in the coming weeks.
|
Please Stay Current with Your Membership
St. Mary Church brings us together to worship, educate, and serve, yet we need your help to sustain this mission.
We call upon you to renew, or become a new member, because dues are the largest part of our church income
to help keep our beloved parish doors open.
Your Membership
MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Help us fulfill our mission to sustain and grow our ministries, worship programs and activities
to
strengthen our church family for generations to come.
Thank you for your generosity and support.
To Learn More About Membership
To Become A Member
|
READ MORE NEWS FROM DIOCESE
|
|
1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3 So he told them this parable: 4 "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
8 "Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
11 Then Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'22 But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe-the best one-and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.25 "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' 31 Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"
Luke 15:1-32
|
COME VISIT THE ST. MARY GIFT SHOP
Our gift shop is furnished with distinctive and unique items from Armenians all over the world.
Some of the items are Armenian crosses, jewelry, paintings, religious tiles and tapestry icons, children
and adult books, T-shirts, hats, bags, Armenian CDs, Armenian artwork, and much more.
The Gift Shop is open every week after Sunday
Church services and by appointment.
|
St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church
Serves the Greater Washington, DC and Baltimore communities. Our mission is to proclaim and grow together
in our Apostolic Faith in Christ Jesus and to sustain our Christian Armenian identity. We celebrate our long and enduring legacy,
the beautiful
traditions of our religious and national heritage, with Christian servitude, and with love and reverence towards our Church.
We invite you and welcome you to be a part of our church,
worship with us, and experience the true love of Christ as we grow together as a community.
|
Sign-up and Stay Connected
with
St. Mary Church E-Newsletters and Correspondence.
|
St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church
Relies on the generosity of individual donors so that it may continue ensuring service
to God and
fellowship
to the Armenian Community.
Your support is deeply appreciated.
|
|
