Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On December 25, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church celebrated the Feast Day of St. Stephen the Proto-Deacon and First Martyr, which is also the feast of the deacons serving in the Church.

On the occasion of the Feast, in the Holy Mother of God Church of the Diocese of Armavir (Vagharshapat City), with the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; 11 seminarians from the 5th level of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary, were ordained into the diaconate, by His Grace Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Artsakh has been appointed as Director of the Artsakh spiritual and cultural heritage office.

The day before, in the evening of December 24, in the chapel of St. Hakob Mtsbna of the Vaskenian Theological Academy, the service of ordination of the minor orders of sub-deacon, acolyte, and stole bearer was offered by His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhannisyan, Director of the “Garegin I” educational center.

During the Divine Liturgy, at the conclusion of the holy sacrament of ordination, the Celebrant, referring to the sacrament of the day, specifically mentioned: “According to a beautiful tradition, the Armenian Church performs diaconate ordination on the feast of St. Stephen the Proto-Deacon, a pan-Christian saint. Divine and heavenly graces descend invisibly on the new ordained ones, strengthening and making them fearless, brave and devoted servants of the Armenian Church and people. In our recent history, there are not a few deacons who were like St. Stephen, becoming martyrs and sacrificing their lives without hesitation for the motherland and the Church”.

In this regard, Bishop Vrtanes urged the faithful Armenians to raise a prayer for the memory of our martyred deacons and ask for the intercession of St. Stephen, so that the newly ordained deacons will be servants of the Armenian Church and people with the same courage.

During the sermon, on the occasion of the ordination, Bishop Vrtanes congratulated the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the staff of the Educational Institutions of the Mother See.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the Bishop blessed the newly ordained deacons and the faithful with the "Protector" prayer and the relic bearer of St. Stephen.

The clergymen and the attending pious people also had the opportunity to bow down and communicate with the relic of St. Stephen brought from the Mother See of Holy  Etchmiadzin to the Holy Mother of God Church of Armavir Diocese on the occasion of the feast.