Sts. Vartanantz Church WEEKLY BULLETIN Reverend Father Kapriel Nazarian -- Pastor 402 Broadway, Providence, RI 02909 Office: 831-6399 Fax: 351-4418 Email: [email protected] Website: stsvartanantzchurch.org Fifth Sunday of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross October 9, 2016 Please Join Us in Worship this Sunday Մասնակցեցէք Ս.Պատարագին` Morning Service 9:30 am Առաւօտեան Ժամերգութիւն 9:30 Divine Liturgy 10:00 am - Sermon 11:15 Ս. Պատարագ 10:00 - Քարոզ 11:15 There will be no Requiem Service Today Live streaming of His Holiness, Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia as he celebrates the Pontifical Divine Liturgy in NJ Fermanian Fellowship Hall 10am Live Streaming is Also Available Via the Prelacy Website: www.armenianprelacy.org Scenes from Our Beloved Der Gomidas' Celebration of the Divine Liturgy and Retirement Banquet GOSPEL Mark 12:35-44 Whose son is the Christ? While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son? The large crowd listened to him with delight. As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished severely.” The Widow’s Offering Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.” (On Page 1005 in your Bible) EPISTLE Galatians 2:1-10 Paul accepted by the Apostles Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. (On Page 1151 in your Bible) REQUIEM SERVICE October 16, 2016 Dr. Barkev Kibarian - Fortieth Day Remembrance Leon Nacaroglu - Fortieth Day Remembrance Harry Toumasian - Fortieth Day Remembrance Aram Donabedian --- First Year Anniversary Archdeacon Souren Mouradjian --- First Year Anniversary Harry Alahverdian Goulistan Nevart Aramian Margaret Baligian and Gerald Murray Peter Bedrosian Simon, Verkin, Peter Edward and Victoria Bedrosian, and Charles and May McGowan Zakar Bogosian Rev. Vram and Yeretzgeen Zartar Hamamjian Peter Koshmatian Varkis Markarian Armenian Fest 2016 Preparations are Underway!!! We need your help! Please come and join us for a few hours starting September 7th Every Mon & Wed = Choreg & Katah 9 am Every Thurs = Kufta 6 pm Choreg, Katah and Kufta may be picked up Monday thru Wednesday between 10am and 1 pm or after Church on Sundays CALENDAR of EVENTS There will be no Adult Bible Study on Monday, October 10th, Columbus Day Today, October 7, 2016 Sunday School Students will be making Armenian Cross Necklaces as a fundraiser to support the Armenian children of Syria 6-8 pm Food will be provided This Sunday, October 9, 2016 Viewing of the Live Streaming of the Pontifical Divine Liturgy from NJ starting at 10 am in Fermanian Fellowship Hall Our Sanctuary will be open for prayer and the lighting of candles. Saturday, October 15, 2016 Homenetmen Fall Harvest Carnival 1 to 5 pm Church Parking Lot Saturday, October 15 and 29, 2016 AHARI Call for Armenian Artifacts at the new offices: 245 Waterman Street, Suite 204 Providence, RI 02906 Sunday, October 23, 2016 Elections for the Board of Trustees and NRA Delegates 10 am to 1 pm Annual Membership Meeting --- Part 2 following the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy To be eligible to vote, your 2016 Membership Dues must be paid. Friday, October 28, 2016 Sunday School Students will be making Armenian Cross Necklaces as a fundraiser to support the Armenian children of Syria 6-8 pm Food will be provided Sunday, October 30, 2016 Sunday School Family Breakfast Visit our website for updated Church News http://www.stsvartanantzchurch.org From the October 6, 2016 edition of Crossroads FEAST OF THE HOLY TRANSLATORS This Saturday, October 8, the Armenian Church commemorates the Feast of the Holy Translators, one of the most beloved feasts. There are, in fact, two such commemorations in our liturgical calendar. One is on the Thursday following the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, which can occur in June or July; the other is on the second Saturday of October. The October commemoration focuses on the creation of the Armenian alphabet (406) and on the accomplishments of the Holy Translators. Mesrob Mashdots, the founder of the alphabet, and Catholicos Sahag, together with some of their students, translated the Bible. Schools were opened and the works of world-renowned scholars were translated. Their work gave the Armenian Church a distinct national identity. In modern times the entire month of October has been designated as a “Month of Culture.” Armenians throughout the Diaspora and Armenia mark this with cultural events not only in remembrance of the past, but in celebration of modern-day scholars, theologians, writers, and translators. Specifically remembered this Saturday along with Mesrob and Sahag, are: Yeghishe, a renowned student of Sahag and Mesrob, who served as secretary to Vartan Mamigonian and who wrote the great history of the Vartanantz wars; Movses of Khoren, another student of Sahag and Mesrob, who is revered as the father of Armenian history; David the Invincible, a student of Movses, who received most of his education in Athens, where he was given the title “Invincible” because of his brilliance in philosophy; Gregory of Narek, who is considered the greatest poet of the Armenian nation and its first and greatest mystic; and Nerses Shnorhali, a great writer, musician, theologian, and ecumenist. With the creation of the Armenian alphabet and the translations that followed, this group of scholars transformed the course of Armenian history forever. It is an affirmation of the popular aphorism, “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword.” The holy translators, like stewards, were interpreters of the divine Scriptures by inventing letters by means of which are preserved on earth as living words for the shepherd flock of the New Israel, praise God with a sweet sounding hymn. They looked on the greatness of earthly glory as on darkness and having put their hope in the immortal bridegroom they were made worthy of the kingdom of heaven; praise God with a sweet-sounding song. By the power of the Father’s wisdom the uncreated existing One by means of their translation they made firm the throne of Saint Gregory, praise God with a sweet-sounding song. Saint Sahag having dressed in the new word, the holy scriptures, adorned the Armenian churches, praise God with a sweet-sounding song. (Canon to the Holy Translators, from the Liturgical Canons of the Armenian Church) “After translating the book of Proverbs, Mesrop and his students began the translation of the New Testament. Translating the bible into any language is an enormous amount of work. It is especially daunting given the absence of any Armenian literature prior to the Bible. Contrast this with the translation of the Bible into English. The most famous English translation is the King James Version, completed in 1611. The earliest English Bible was produced by John Wycliffe in 1382. But even before Wycliffe, there was a tradition of writing in English from which Wycliffe and subsequent translators could draw familiar expressions and phrases. The Armenian Bible, however, is the first work of Armenian literature. In translating the Bible, Sahak and Mesrop and their disciples did more than just a translation.