Celebration Event for the Feast of St. Vardan the Warrior and His Companions
23.02.2017
On February 23, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; a celebration was held, on the occasion of the Feast day of St.Vardan the Warrior and his 1036 companions, in the Events Auditorium of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary. The event was organized through the efforts of the students from the Gevorkian Theological Seminary and Yerevan State University (YSU) and State Management Academy.
The event was opened with the Lord’s Prayer and the hymns of the Republic of Armenia and the Gevorkian Seminary.
Rev. Fr. Karekin Hambardzumian, Dean of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary offered opening remarks. “Every year, the immortal memory of St. Vardan and his companions unites us in the Events Auditorium of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary, to highlight a fact of history that forever changed the life of an Armenian, making the Armenian and Christian concepts a synonym.
Over half a century before the heroic events of Avarayr, the creation of the Armenian alphabet already showed the desire of our people: to relate to Christ’s word in his own native language. But the Vardanank turned the honest desire into a strong will, that would accompany us through the ages”, stated Father Karekin.
“… A few days ago we celebrated the Feast of St. Ghevond the Priest, through which once more was highlighted the importance of our clergy’s divine mission of serving the nation. Today, the feast is completed through the memory of the victims for the sake of the faith and Homeland, through which an entire nation makes his identity the color of his skin and for who the Artsakh War, last April and the soldiers present here, becomes a collective reality of the firmness of faith and homeland security”, added the Dean.
He also congratulated the Pontiff of All Armenians on the occasion of His Naming Day, and noted: “During these 25 years after independence, His Holiness has become an example for all of us in his mission of service, that the best way to find yourself is to lose it in bringing service to others. Every church, school or childcare center both in the Homeland and Diaspora shows the unbreakable will and devotion of Vardanants in the individual of the Catholicos of All Armenians.
The Rector of YSU, Mr. Aram Simonyan, welcomed the guests. He congratulated everyone on the occasion of the feast, and also expressed his heartfelt words to His Holiness on the occasion of His Naming Day and wished him longevity and health.
Speaking on the importance of the day, the Rector Simonyan added: “Through their sacrifice the 1036 companions came to once again confirm that the Armenian people have the right to live a free and independent life, that this nation has the right to survive, has the right to look to the bright future and confidently walk towards that future. Our modern liberation struggle is also proof of that. But unfortunately there are many victims in that liberation struggle too. The YSU students, unfortunately, are not free from those sacrifices. Today, our students open the doors of named rooms and enter, which are named in memory of the victims and deceased students. But at the same time our present-day heroes are proudly walking through those halls and rooms, who won the last four-day war in Karabakh with honor, and today some of those heroes continue their studies at our institution. We have a revered attitude toward the memory of those victims and we are proud of our heroes, who were standing on the border and did not allow the enemy to reach their native land”.
The students of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary and Yerevan State University (YSU) and State Management Academy performed spiritual and patriotic songs.
Then a lecture was presented by Ph.D. Albert Stepanyan on the history of Vartanants.
The event was concluded with the Pontifical blessings and remarks of His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II.
At the conclusion, the Catholicos of All Armenians expressed his appreciation to all those who had made a contribution to the beautiful and symbolic tradition and also the organizers of the annual event, and then reflected on the wonderment of the feast. The significance of Vartanants is caused by the boundless dedication of our people toward freedom and bright expression of faithfulness toward God.
…Our nation had never treated the Vartanants war as a past event. At all times the Vartanants spirit has been dominant in the life of the Armenians, especially when our identity, our faith and Homeland were endangered. We saw the Vardanants spirit in the battle of Sardarapat and during the Artsakh war and as well as during the April war.
The Armenians have never hesitated to give their life for their freedom, identity, religion, homeland, family, and God. Anxiety of death has never been an obstacle for Armenians to express their love for God”, stated His Holiness.
The Catholicos of All Armenians stated that the Vartanants spirit is needed to overcome the challenges and problems in our Homeland and Diaspora, and courage to reinforce the union and strengthen the faith, to protect the Homeland from danger, keep the Armenian family strong and steady, and the Armenian language pure.
“Avarayr continues so long as there is need to fight for the preservation of our sacred values”, added the Catholicos urging that zealous and enthusiastic efforts must be exerted for the glory of the nation’s mission and to achieve success in their service.
Congratulating the attendees, the Catholicos of All Armenians wished them to live in peace and happiness with God's blessing always protecting them.
The event ended with the “Lord’s Prayer”.
Attending the event were Brotherhood of Mother See; His Eminence Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, member of the St. James Brotherhood of Jerusalem; members of the Brotherhood of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople- His Eminence Archbishop Aram Ateshian, Vicar of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, His Eminence Archbishop Karekin Bekchian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Germany and His Grace Bishop Sahak Mashalian, Chairman of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Religious Council; Diocesan leaders; Bishops of Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, students of various educational institutions and soldiers.
