Recitation Competition Dedicated to 1000th Anniversary of 'Lamentations of Narek'
09.05.2003
On the occasion of the 1000th Anniversary of St. Gregory of Narek's "Prayerbook of Lamentations", the Diocese of Armavir, in association with the Land and Culture Organization, has planned a recitation competition. His Grace Bishop Sion Adamian, Primate of the Diocese, announced that 60 students from twelve schools in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin) will participate in the competition, scheduled to take place from May 12 through 14.
Each student will present a recitation of excerpts from the famous book of prayer. Three students, who are judged to be the best, will be awarded monetary prizes. All 60 participants will be given a copy of the "Prayerbook of Lamentations" at the conclusion of the competition. The event is being sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Vartkes and Shushanik Markarian.
Saint Gregory of Narek was a Christian mystic, Vardapet and Bishop of the Armenian Church. He was born in 951 and was educated in the Monastery of Narek. Gregory later became a teacher at the Monastery, and his fame as a Christian scholar was renown. His "Prayerbook of Lamentations", written in 1003, has also been known by the title of each of the 95 chapters in it: "Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart". For ten centuries, the prayerbook has been one of the most often read and respected book among Armenians, second only to the Holy Bible. The book also has miraculous power attributed to it, and is frequently read over those who are ill.
In November 2002, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, issued a special Pontifical Encyclical dedicated to the 1000th Anniversary of the "Prayerbook of Lamentations", wherein he invited the entire Armenian Nation to celebrate the jubilee year of 2003.
