Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Holds Special Prayer Service for Holy Land
On the evening of April 12, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, presided over a solemn and moving prayer service dedicated to Peace and Reconciliation in the Holy Land. The Members of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin gathered in the Mother Cathedral to offer their supplications to God, praying for an end to violence and aggression.
His Holiness began with a moving description of the purpose for which the service was being conducted. He mentioned that the faithful should remember all of the innocent victims of violence, including the recently wounded seminarian from the St. James Armenian Monastery in Jerusalem, who is originally from Armenia.
With the moving hymn of ?Lord, have mercy?, the entire class of clergy of the Armenian Church entreated God for His Divine compassion and pity, to grant healing to the sick and wounded, eternal rest to the souls of the departed, peace to the world and stability to the Holy Church. The service ended with a prayer by His Holiness asking for God?s protection, safety and blessings for all mankind.
Earlier in the day, His Holiness had a private meeting with the parents and close family members of Stole-bearer Armen Sinanian from Goris, Armenia. Sinanian was injured two days ago when he was shot while confined inside the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem. His Holiness offered his fatherly words of consolation to the family, and shared with them the promising news that the young seminarian?s condition was improving, and physicians were hopeful that he would be released from the hospital within one week. His Holiness Karekin II continues to receive several updates each day from His Beatitude, Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, on current developments in the Holy Land.
