Salt & Light Youth Group Zoom Meeting

Reported by Miss Aleene Voskerijian

On June 5th, members of St. Sarkis' Salt & Light group met for their second online zoom session. Since the pandemic has kept us in our homes and away from all group gatherings, Salt & Light has remained as a resource for our participants. This week's discussion was about the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

Through this parable, the participants were able to compare a self-righteous Pharisee, obsessed by his own virtue, with a tax collector who humbly asks God for mercy. By discussing this comparison, the participants were able to come to the conclusion that this parable teaches us a lesson to pray humbly. The participants and facilitators then entered a conversation where we reflected on our own lives and the ways that we all can become more humble.

We hope to continue our virtual Salt & Light sessions through the entire summer in an effort to provide our participants with a sense of community during these very difficult times. 

Sunday Of Graduates 2020

Dear Parishioners,

Please remember that church services will continue to be held behind close doors with limited participation of the congregation. Services will be streamed on Facebook. Click here to find the church's page on Facebook.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay tuned to our Facebook page.

Prayerfully,

Fr. Nareg Terterian, Pastor &

The Board of Trustees of St. Sarkis Church

P.S. Please contact the church office at 718-224-2275 or Der Nareg at 646-217-9330 to schedule/reschedule sacraments such as Baptisms and Weddings, to arrange funeral services or have the pastor make hospital visits for your loved ones. 

Dear Parishioners,

I hope that you are safe, healthy, and well in these uncertain and changing times. 

Although church services are being held behind closed doors, we are offering requiem services for your loved one and welcome you to "attend" the live stream on our facebook page.

Please Click Here to complete the requiem service request or call the church office at 718-224-2275.

Prayerfully,

Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian 

THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE HEBREWS (9.1-10)

ՊՕՂՈՍ ԱՌԱՔԵԱԼԻ ՆԱՄԱԿԸ ԵԲՐԱՅԵՑԻՆԵՐՈՒՆ (9.1-10) 

SAINT JOHN THE FORERUNNER

On June 11, we celebrated the Feast of St. John the Baptist (also called the Forerunner). John the Baptist is prominent in each of the four Gospels. He is associated with the beginning of the ministry of Jesus and is considered to be the "forerunner" to Jesus the Messiah. He baptized those who repented their sins, and he preached the coming of one after him who is greater than he and would baptize not with water but with the Spirit. In the third chapter of Matthew, John is reluctant to baptize Jesus and does so only after encouragement from Jesus. The Armenian Church considers St. John the Baptist as one of the three prime intercessors to Jesus, the other two being Soorp Asdvadzadzin and St. Stephen the Protomartyr.

FEAST OF ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR: DELIVERANCE FROM THE PIT

This Saturday (June 13) is the Feast of St. Gregory the Illuminator's deliverance from the pit (Khor Viraben Yelkuh). Gregory is revered as the patron saint of the Armenian Church. He is recognized and memorialized in both eastern and western hierarchical churches. The Armenian liturgical calendar reserves four feast days in his honor: Entrance into the pit; the angel's visit while in the pit; deliverance from the pit; and discovery of relics. In addition to these three days, there are several feast days to which he is closely connected, namely the feast days for Sts. Hripsimiantz, Sts. Gayaniantz, Shoghakat, Holy Etchmiadzin, and King Trdat. The Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox churches, and Oriental Orthodox churches have special days in their calendars for the veneration of St. Gregory, who is considered to be one of the Fathers of the early Christian church.

 Gregory was condemned to the pit in 287 AD by King Trdat and the persecution of Christians began. After the martyrdom of a group of nuns who came to Armenia from Rome led by Hripsime and Gayane, Trdat was stricken with strange maladies. His sister, Khosrovidukht, had a dream that Gregory was the only person who could heal her brother. Miraculously, Gregory was still alive after many years in the pit, thanks to the daily visits of an angel. Gregory emerged from the pit; the king was healed and baptized, and he declared Christianity to be the official religion of Armenia.

Gregory was not the first to preach Christianity in Armenia. That distinction belongs to the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew who came to Armenia in the first century, and thus gave the Armenian Church its apostolic designation. Nevertheless, Gregory is revered and is considered by Armenians to be the father of their faith. Hundreds of churches have been built and named in his honor.

"The ancient calendars of the still undivided Church celebrated him [Gregory] on the same day in both the East and the West as a tireless apostle of truth and holiness. The father in faith of the whole Armenian people, St. Gregory still intercedes from heaven today, so that all the children of your great nation may at last gather round the one table prepared by Christ, the divine Shepherd of one flock."

Pope John Paul II in his "Apostolic Letter for the 1700th Anniversary of the Baptism of the Armenian People," issued February 2, 2001.

FEAST OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN                           

This Sunday (June 14) is the Feast of Holy Mother Etchmiadzin, the cathedral built by St. Gregory after his deliverance from the pit, to the specifications he saw in a vision, and on the place marked by the Lord with a golden hammer. This feast day commemorates the establishment of the Armenian Church and the end of paganism. Etchmiadzin is the oldest example of a four-altar, four-pillar, domes, cruciform church in Christian architecture. More than 1,700 years old, it is the oldest surviving Armenian Christian site. Relief sculptures on the exterior walls are some of the oldest examples of the Christian Armenian art of sculpting.

40th Day Presentation to The Lord  

-  NOAH MASIS TURBENDIAN, son of Mr. & Mrs. Ngteh & Nancy Turbendian was brought to church for the 40th day dedication service, according to the rites of the Armenian Church. We welcome Noah to the life of the church and hope to see him soon for the Sacrament of Baptism.

Obituary

- Mrs.  MARGARET ALAHVERDIAN,  passed on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.  Funeral services were held on Monday, June 8, 2020, at Huntington Cemetery. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family. May she rest in peace.

LIGHT A VIRTUAL CANDLE

Sister Organization