Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On 29 March, in the late evening, the Passion Service was offered in the Mother Cathedral, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The services on Holy Friday are dedicated to the sufferings, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus Christ.

During the Morning Service, His Grace Bishop Arshak Khachatryan, Chancellor of Mother See, preached on the mystery of the Passion Service.

“These days, we live the most exciting and eventful days of the ritual life of our Church and the history of Christ's life: days that are filled with conflicting, contradictory feelings and images. On the one hand, infinite love, and on the other hand intolerance and hatred; on the one hand honesty and consciousness, on the other hand deep and insufferable deceit and dishonesty; on the one hand light and on the other hand darkness, suffering and punishment, happiness and unhappiness.

Christ infinitely loved people, cared not only for His immediate disciples, but also to all those who were longing for His care. He healed the lame, granted light to the blind, the deaf found their hearing, the lepers were cured. The disciples, who were just simple and unknown fishermen, soon became popular and famous. People did not see evil, intolerance and harm from Christ, but hatred and hostility towards Christ grew and strengthened day by day, and Christ became the object of envy, hatred, and hostility. Christ was persecuted by the Jews, Pharisees, and Scribes, as well as the Roman soldiers. Christ was attacked both by strangers and by his own people, one of Christ's disciples, Jude, betrayed Him for silver and greed, Peter, who repeatedly assured his full commitment, denied Christ three times in the most difficult moments of suffering and hardship. And the other disciples followed him. Christ was whipped, humiliated, dishonored, suffered, was raised to the cross and it seemed there were no any other kind of suffering and affliction that would be used against our Lord.

…Today, we have united in this Sacred Cathedral not just to remember these historical events, not to confirm their historical authenticity but to survive these events, to share His sufferings, we have come to communicate His sufferings. We feel the sounds of pain and suffering that embarrassed Christ at His moments of torture, we hear the blood, the sweat that became His prayers, His emotions, His torture, and complaints of the soul. Today, in this Holy Church, we are covered with the same complaints and worries, so that we may share the suffering of Christ, our Lord… Christ endlessly loved the joy, but he was never afraid of cry and sorrow. Christ loved the light, but never feared the darkness, he loved and dedicated Himself to victory”, stated Bishop Arshak.

Bishop Arshak urged the attendees not to give up while walking through thorns, sufferings, and trials like the Lord, but to continue to be guided by the love of Christ, to persevere during times of trial, and to reach the triumphant end.