Catholicos of All Armenians Consecrated Holy Mother of God Church in Stepanakert
07.04.2019
On April 7, the Feast of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; presided over the Consecration of the Holy Mother of God Church in Stepanakert.
Present at this sacred service were Mr. Bako Sahakyan, President of the Republic of Artsakh; Mr. Ashot Ghulyan, Chairman of the NKR National Assembly; Spiritual servants of the Diocese of Artsakh; representatives of the Artsakh and Armenian authorities; benefactors who supported in the Church construction and clergymen, pilgrims and many faithful people from different dioceses of Armenia.
During the Divine Liturgy, under the singing of psalms, the clergy washed the Holy Altar of the Cathedral and the pillars with wine and water. The Catholicos of All Armenians consecrated the Holy Altar of the Cathedral with Holy Chrism. His Eminence Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, Primate of the Diocese; His Eminence Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See; His Eminence Archbishop Sepuh Chuljyan, Primate of the Diocese of Gougark; His Eminence Archbishop Michael Ajapahyan,
Primate of the Diocese of Shirak; His Grace Bishop Vasken Mirzakhanyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Georgia; His Grace Bishop Ararat Galtakchyan; His Grace Bishop Arshak Khachatryan, Chancellor of the Mother See; His Grace Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, Head Chaplain of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia; His Grace Bishop Moushegh Babayan, Director of the Administrative Department of the Mother See consecrated the altar pillars bearing the names of the four apostles and the other pillars of the church.
Following the prayers and scriptural readings, the Catholicos of All Armenians named the Church Holy Mother of God Church.
At the conclusion of the consecration, His Holiness Karekin II, blessed the people of Artsakh through the “Protector” prayer and on the occasion of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary and the consecration of the Church, he conveyed his Pontifical message to the attending faitful.
"For the sake of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen:
"For God is with us"
(Isaiah 10)
Your Excellency, Mr. President of Nagorno Karabagh; Bako Sahakyan;
Your Eminence Archbishop Pargev, Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh;
Honorable President;
Your Eminences, Your Graces, Reverend Fathers,
Honorable State Officials,
Dear and pious sons and daughters of our Holy Church,
On the Feast of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary, we have come from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to convey our blessings and appreciation to our dear people of Artsakh and share the spiritual joy and enthusiasm on the occasion of the consecration of the newly-built Mother Church of Stepanakert. The foundation blessing service of the Church was held yet in 2006, with faith that God is always with us and grants us achievements and victories in our struggles and in all our good intentions.
Today, dear faithful, is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary, when the angel announced the good news of Savior's birth to St. Mary, saying: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” The humble answer of Holy Virgin Mary to the good news of the angel was: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord” (Luke 1:28-38). As the Holy Virgin Mary became the chosen temple and altar for the Only Begotten Son of the Almighty and the symbol of salvation for the humankind, this church will also grant salvation graces to the faithful.
"For God is with us." How faithfully and joyfully this expression contents. The faith and consciousness of God's support have played a crucial role in our people's lives. During different periods of our history, we have become God's favor facing various trials and heroically fought against enemies, always believing that “If the Lord is with us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)”. With this strong faith and trust in God, our victories have been shaped, our spiritual and national sacred values have been protected, generations have grown up with this encouragement who have liberated the heroic battle of Artsakh with a victory. Today we are all here to testify that, despite all the difficulties, imposed wars, destructions and massacres, it is impossible to deprive the Armenian people's faith and spirit, for God is with us, and we are the people of God, we must live, create and build, as we have built this Holy Mother of God Church.
Dear pious people, today we talked about the power of faith and the importance, courage and heroism of preservation of sanctuaries.
Our urge to you is that you continue your life with the same course and determination for the good and prosperous life of the Armenians of Artsakh and the realization of the desires of our people.
On this glorious occasion, we convey our blessing and appreciation to His Eminence Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh, as well as the clergy of the Diocese for their devoted service. Dear Archbishop Pargev, we know that for years with a great zeal you brought every effort for the strengthening of the spiritual life of Artsakh and the construction of this church in the heart of Artsakh. May God grant you good health, heavenly blessings and all the good, and new achievements.
We express our appreciation to the Artsakh authorities, particularly the President of the Artsakh Republic Mr. Bako Sahakyan, through whose consistent efforts and support the Church of Stepanakert opened its doors to our people. We also express our appreciation to Honorable President Arkadi Ghukasyan, that during his tenure, the foundation of the church was laid.
We express our gratitude and appreciation to all those who have contributed to this God-pleasing activity, particularly to Vardanian pious brothers and to Vitaly Grigoryants. We express our appreciation also to the architect, builders and masters of the church. On the occasion of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary, we convey our blessing and congratulations to our mothers and sisters in Artsakh.
We offer our prayers that the Almighty God keep the Artsakh world peacefully and safely and keep our Apostolic Holy Church and the Artsakh Diocese bright. At the conclusion, the Armenian Pontiff presented to the newly-appointed Church the Lord's Christmas icon brought from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
For the long-term spiritual service and earnings, His Holiness granted Archbishop Pargev an Episcopal Panagia.
His Holiness expressed his special gratitude to Michael and Karen Vardanyans, the main benefactors of the church construction and granted them the "Saint Grigor the Illuminator" Honorary Medal of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
On this glorious occasion, the Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh, presented His Holiness a 15th century historical Holy Communion Chalice of the Tsiranavor Holy Mother of God Church, properly observing that it will be preserved in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
At the conclusion, His Holiness Karekin II presided over a Divine Liturgy in the newly-built church.
