The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople offered a Divine Liturgy
01.10.2024
With the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; on all days of the week following the re-consecration ceremony of the Mother Cathedral, at 19:00, a Divine and Immortal Liturgy will be served in the Mother Cathedral.
On this occasion, on September 30, under the chairmanship of the Catholicos of All Armenians, a Divine Liturgy was served in the Mother Cathedral. The Celebrant was His Eminence Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople.
The Brotherhood of the Mother See, diocesan primates of the Armenian Church and many Armenian pilgrims were attending the sacred ceremony.
The Patriarch of Constantinople, referring to the human-God relationship in his sermon, mentioned in particular: "God wants to see what a person will choose from those given to him. God expects us to turn to him and say: My God, this world is very beautiful, but I choose you, more than all beauties and values, even more than my life, I choose you and I love you.
...We cannot choose God with our lips, therefore we must serve God with our abilities, you must be able to offer what we have to God."
The Celebrant emphasized that a person should serve his life for the glory of God, becoming the continuation of divine pious work, and make his person the house of the Lord.
Speaking about the sacrament of the Mother Cathedral, Archbishop Sahak emphasized: "For 1,700 years, nothing other than prayer and worship has been offered in this holy place, it was dedicated only to God, therefore our souls should be dedicated only to God. The pillars and walls of this temple are imbued with prayer and the word of God. Therefore, our souls should be nourished by those prayers and we should stick to the word of God. That way we can be a temple of God. This is the secret of the holy temple."
The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also referred to the importance and power of the Holy Muron in the life of a Christian Armenian, urging the unbaptized to be baptized and sealed with the Holy Muron.
At the conclusion of the sermon, Archbishop Sahak wished that the opening of the Mother Church and the Blessing of the Holy Muron would bestow new graces and blessings and keep the Armenian people united.
