St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church
Rev. Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan, Pastor
Address: 4125 Fessenden St. NW, Washington, DC 20016
Tel: 202-363-1923
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Seventy-Two Disciples?
You might think it's a misprint. Everyone knows that Jesus had exactly twelve disciples-so why does the Armenian Church calendar reserve a feast day for the Seventy-Two Disciples of Christ? (We'll observe it this Saturday, October 6.)
In fact, the Seventy-Two Disciples are firmly rooted in Scripture-but only the Gospel of Luke mentions them. They were the "advance team" for Christ's ministry, fanning out into the countryside, preaching in villages and towns-preparing the soil, as it were, for Jesus' personal arrival in a given locale.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few," Christ said as he dispatched the 72 disciples. "So the Lord of the harvest has to send more workers out into the fields."
He sent them out "as lambs among wolves," without purse, bag, or sandals. He told them to live simply, but deliver an urgent message.
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Food Festival Preparations
Our members and volunteers have once again devoted the entire month of September to preparing for the St. Mary 71th Annual Armenian Fall Food Festival. They have prepared hundreds of delicious food items in the kitchen as we have enjoyed the aromas throughout the church. The authentic Armenian dishes are from recipes that have long been part of our proud heritage and we are ever so grateful for their time, energy, and skills. Our heartfelt thanks to each and everyone of them.
The Festival started yesterday with a great success and will continue over the weekend. Friday and Saturday evenings there will also be musical entertainment available.
Please join us over the weekend to enjoy delicious food and wonderful entertainment.
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Come enjoy great food, music, local vendors and more
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Immortal Voice of a People
Music is an essential element in the life of the Armenian people: an inspirational force that binds us together. Our hymns to the glory of God, our tender folksongs that exalt human life, are a vital thread weaving Armenians together across generations and geography.
In a musical heritage that can be traced back to antiquity, one voice rings out above all others: the immortal voice of the “holy father” of Armenian music, Gomidas Vartabed.
His inspired genius stands at the apex of our musical heritage: the summation of all the Armenian music that had come before him, and the inspiration for all that would follow. This year marks the 150th anniversary of his birth.
That birth occurred in the humblest of settings. He was a veritable homeless boy, born Soghomon Soghomonian in Gudina (Kutahya) on October 8 (September 26, by the Old Calendar), 1869, and orphaned early on. A chance meeting with a clergyman brought him to the notice of Holy Etchmiadzin, where his beautiful singing voice brought Catholicos Kevork to tears. He was enrolled as a seminarian, and later sent to study at Germany’s Berlin Conservatory.
Ordained as a vartabed, Fr. Gomidas would spend his productive life traveling from one Armenian village to another, notating the songs chanted by Armenian peasants. He classified some 2,000 sacred and folk melodies, often arranging them for concerts. Ironically, the world he so lovingly preserved was destroyed in his own lifetime, never to be restored. Indeed, had Gomidas never traveled the Anatolian heartland recording the age-old music of Armenian country folk, these treasures would be lost beyond recovery today.
Gomidas was himself a personal victim of the calamity that struck the Armenians of Ottoman Turkey. As the greatest Armenian cultural figure of his age, he was among the intellectuals rounded up for exile and execution on April 24, 1915. Through the intercession of sympathetic, influential figures, Gomidas survived the Genocide. But his mind and spirit would never be the same. He was eventually institutionalized in Paris, where he spent his last years until his death in 1935. His mortal remains were interred in our homeland, in the Armenian Pantheon. His spirit would live on to spark the musical genius of Khachaturian, Hovhannes, and countless others down to our present day—and surely far into the future.
The 150th anniversary of his birth is being marked throughout the Armenian world as a celebration of Gomidas’ life and work—and rightfully so. But it is also a reminder of the precious burden Armenians must uphold, to remember, preserve, and celebrate the creative achievements of our people with intense conviction and ardor. Keep that in mind next Tuesday, on Gomidas Vartabed’s 150th birthday.
Gomidas rendered an incalculable service to his people—and to the world—by bringing our beautiful heritage into the light of day before twilight fell. In the words of one of his most ardent disciples: “The voice of Gomidas is the undisguised heartbeat of the Armenian people.”
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READ MORE NEWS FROM DIOCESE
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Morning Service
10:00 AM
Holy Badarak
10:30 AM
Celebrant
Rev. Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan
Ushers
Mrs. Sara Arabian
Parish Council Members on Duty
Mr. Bagrat Bayburtian, Mr. Ara Stepanian, Mr. Mark Krikorian
Choir
Mrs. Edita Kalayjian
Organist
Mrs. Karine Muradyan
Bible Reading
Isaiah 17.7-14; 2 Corinthians 13.5-13;
Mark 11.27-33
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HOKEHANKIST REQUIEM SERVICE
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HOKEHANKIST
REQUIEM SERVICE
For the Soul of:
Hariknaz Ozbenian and Misak Mermer
Requested by:
Zadik Ozbenian, Garo and Juliette Ozbenian, John and Jaqueline Ozbenian, Maryam Mermer, their children and grand children
For the Souls of:
Araxi Bostanian Kobrin, Theodore Kobrin, Sarkis and Esther Bostanian, Dikran and Armina Bostanian, John and Elizabeth Shanlian, Joyce Elizabeth Shanlian, Avedis and Kohar Shanlian, Kerop and Sarah Arsenian
Requested by:
Melanie Kobrin (daughter of Araxi Bostanian Kobrin and Theodore Kobrin;
Dennis Shanlian and Cynthia Shanlian Reid (cousins)
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To request a Hokehankist/Requiem Service
Please contact the Church Office
by 12:00 Noon on Thursday
202-363-1923 or
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CALENDAR OF FEASTS AND EVENTS
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Every Tuesday
Bible Study
October 6
ACYOA Juniors
Monthly Teen Meeting
October 3 – 6
Fall Food Festival
October 9
Hagop Jaghatspanyan concert
October 11-13
ACYOA Juniors Fall Sports Weekend
October 11
Tribute GOMIDAS celebrating his 150th birthday
concert by Şahan Arzruni at French embassy at 7:30pm
Details will follow
October 27
Book presentation by Matthew Karanian : The Armenian Highland: Western Armenia and the First Armenian Republic Of 1918
October 27
Feast of the Discovery of the Holy Cross
November 21
Presentation of the Holy Mother-of-God to the Temple
November 23
Knights and Daughters of Vartan Fall Christmas Bazaar
December 9
Feast of the Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary
December 31
New year Gala 2020
January 13-22, 2020
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem
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For 30 Years of Service, FAR Receives Armenia’s Highest Honor
This year, the Fund for Armenian Relief is celebrating 30 years of transformative humanitarian and development work in our homeland. An anniversary gala held last week at FAR’s Gyumri Information Technology Center (GTech) was the stage on which the organization received one of Armenia’s highest honors: the “Medal of Honor.”
Some 150 people attended the event, where local and national dignitaries mingled with beneficiaries of FAR projects whose lives had vastly improved as a result.
FAR leaders and staffers were recognized as well; among them Armenia Country director Bagrat Sargsyan and Board of Directors chair Randy Sapah-Gulian. FAR Board members Nishan and Margaret Atinizian, James and Marta Batmasian, Carl Bazarian, Edward Mardigian, Sandra Shahinian, Dennis Tarzian, Gregory Toufayan, and Pontish Yeramyan, were honored for their work in Armenia by the governors of the Shirak and Tavush provinces.
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27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?" 29 Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John's baptism-was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!" 31 They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' 32But if we say, 'Of human origin' ..." (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)33 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Mark 11:27-33
26Դարձեալ Երուսաղէմ եկան. եւ մինչ նա այնտեղ, տաճարում շրջում էր, նրա մօտ եկան քահանայապետները, օրէնսգէտները եւ ծերերը 27ու ասացին նրան. «Ի՞նչ իշխանութեամբ ես դու այդ անում, եւ ո՞վ տուեց քեզ այդ իշխանութիւնը»։ 28Յիսուս պատասխան տուեց եւ ասաց նրանց. «Ես էլ ձե՛զ մի բան հարցնեմ, պատասխանեցէ՛ք ինձ, եւ ես ձեզ կ՚ասեմ, թէ ինչ իշխանութեամբ եմ այս անում։ 29Յովհաննէսի մկրտութիւնը երկնքի՞ց էր, թէ՞՝ մարդկանցից. պատասխանեցէ՛ք ինձ»։ 30Նրանք իրար միջեւ խորհում էին ու ասում. «Եթէ ասենք՝ երկնքից, մեզ կ՚ասի՝ իսկ ինչո՞ւ նրան չհաւատացիք. 31իսկ եթէ ասենք՝ մարդկանցից, ժողովրդից ենք վախենում». որովհետեւ բոլորը գիտէին, թէ Յովհաննէսը մարգարէ էր։32Պատասխան տուեցին եւ Յիսուսին ասացին՝ չգիտենք. եւ Յիսուս նրանց պատասխանեց ու ասաց. «Ես էլ ձե՛զ չեմ ասի, թէ ինչ իշխանութեամբ եմ այս անում»։
Մարկոս 11:27-33
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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
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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.
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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.
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Signup / Stay Connected with St. Mary Church E-Newsletters and Correspondence.
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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.
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St. Mary Armenian Church, Rev. Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan, Pastor
4125 Fessenden St. NW, Washington, DC 20016 | stmarychurchdc@gmail.com
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