On June 16, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church celebrated the memory of the virgins of Saint Hripsime.
This festive day is also the day of the vow of the monastery of Saint Hripsime.
According to the information system of the Mother See, in the morning, the procession of the clergy from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, accompanied by the faithful, under the drumbeat of the pupils of the Armenian Children’s Home of Etchmiadzin, moved to the monastery of Saint Hripsime, carrying the relics of the holy virgin Hripsime.
In front of the arch of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, the Patriarch of All Armenians blessed the sacred right hand of the clergy and those present, handing it over to the Archbishop of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Eminence Father Anania Tsaturyan.
In front of the St. Hripsime Monastery, the procession was greeted by the clergy of the monastery and numerous pilgrims from different places, led by His Grace Bishop Artak Tigranyan, Inspector of the Mother See of the Church of Vanor.
On the occasion of the blessed feast, the Holy and Immortal Liturgy was celebrated in the St. Hripsime Monastery. It was celebrated by His Eminence Archbishop Shnorkh Tonikyan, a member of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The sacred ceremony of the liturgy was attended by parishioners of the Mother See of the Church and numerous Armenian pilgrims.
In his sermon, the priest Father Bishop, referring to the daytime sermon, called on the faithful to follow the example of the virgins of St. Hripsime, who, with their hope and faith in God, disregarded all the trials, temptations and even death of temporal life, remaining faithful to their Christian vow.
In conclusion, Father Shnork called on the faithful to seek the intercession of the saint in their prayers to be strengthened and strengthened in faith, and to always keep the Armenian churches beautiful and unshakable.
At the end of the liturgy, under the presidency of His Grace Bishop Artak Tigranyan, the bearer of the saint’s relics, the rite of Andastan was performed.