Palm Sunday to be Celebrated in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
This year, on Sunday 20 March, the Holy Apostolic Church will celebrate the Feast of Palm Sunday, which commemorates the triumphant entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
Under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; Palm Sunday is also annually declared to be the Blessing of Children Day.
On the occasion of the Feast, a special service of Blessing of Children will be held in all Armenian Churches.
Under the presidency of His Holiness, the following services will be held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin:
At 10:00 a.m., the Blessing Service of the Four Corners of the World (Andastan) will be offered in the courtyard of the Mother Cathedral.
Following the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the Blessing of Children service will be offered at 1:00 p.m., at the St. Trdat Open Air Altar.
On this occasion, with the blessings of the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Social Service Department of Mother See will implement a project called "Palm Sunday in the Mother See", during which over 300 needy children from different Armenian dioceses, and of which 100 are from Syrian-Armenian families, will participate in the Blessing of Children service in the Mother See.
The children will attend a festive concert in the Hratch and Suzanne Toufayan Youth Center of Etchmiadzin. On this occasion, His Holiness will distribute gifts to the children, arranged by the Social Service Department of Mother See through the donation of the Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR), USA.