YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. On September 21, during the celebration of Divine Liturgy, the sacrament of ordination and anointment of deacons into the Holy Order of Priesthood was offered in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. The Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin informed “Armenpress” that 9 Deacons of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary and 4 Deacon graduates of the Accelerated Priest Course were consecrated and ordained by His Grace Bishop Haigazun Najarian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, and Pontifical Legate of India and the Far East. The ordaining Bishop Haigazun offered the Service of Calling and consecrated the foreheads and hands of the new priests with Holy Chrism (Muron) and gave them new names:

Deacon Gevork Alaverdian was renamed Father Nshan

Deacon Samvel Harutyunian was renamed Father Khacher

Deacon Garnik Shahinian was renamed Father Shnorhk

Deacon Vardan Hunanian was renamed Father Taron

Deacon Vrezh Mikaelian was renamed Father Poghos

Deacon Harutyun Matevosian was renamed Father Koryun

Deacon Davit Hmayakian was renamed Father Mambre

Deacon Artak Torosian was renamed Father Ghazar

Deacon Tigran Injighulian was renamed Father Tachat

Deacon Arthur Arshakian was renamed Father Nerses

Deacon Gegham Hovhannisian was renamed Father Sarkis

Deacon Grigor Topashian was renamed Father Ghevond

Deacon Davit Abrahamian was renamed Father Smbat

At the end of the ceremony of ordination the newly ordained priests extended their first blessings, making the sign of the cross to the faithful.

Following the ordination, Bishop Haigazun expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Catholicos of All Armenians for giving him the opportunity to offer his first ordination of priests. His Grace addressed his congratulations and message to his spiritual children; the newly ordained clergy, speaking on the act of giving them new names. “You had secular names that you received from your parents, but today, when the Holy Spirit descends on you, you become a new person, a new being, therefore you are given new names. No matter how many years you have studied in the Seminary, today the influence of the Holy Spirit increases your cognitive ability and your devotion becomes perfect and absolute to the Holy Altar and Holy Church. Therefore, you add to and complete this structure; the Church”, said His Grace.

Bishop Haigazun also spoke on the divine guidance of priesthood: “Pastoral life is not a usual situation, not a typical sort of circumstances that can be replaced with another one, pastoral life is unconditional devotion. Our people need dedicated and humble priests, who must awaken themselves from spiritual darkness and the numbness of sleep. When people become unfeeling and lazy, Satan and evil comes and grabs them. You are the last obstacle, the last soldier, who remains vigilant and a guardian, and what is the duty of the guardian if not the announcement of the advent of the enemy and to awaken the sleeping soldiers so that they’ll be able to resist and repulse the enemy.

Our Armenian Church is the lifelong summation of the saints, martyrs, hermits and devoted faithful, whose threshold is visible, but end is not seen. You come to join the beautiful regiment”. His Grace urged the thirteen newly ordained priests to satisfy the spiritual hunger of the faithful with devoted service, and focusing their gaze on our nation's heroic past and best examples of history; to sow good seeds with their anointed Holy right hands.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the Brotherhood of Mother See, ascended to the Altar and kissing the anointed foreheads and hands of the new priests, and received the first “Greeting” from them.

The new clergy will follow the traditional 40-day seclusion period of fasting and prayer, after which by the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, they will be called to serve in the dioceses of the Armenian Church and departments of the Mother See.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, a Pontifical Prayer was offered in the Mother Cathedral at the Holy Altar of Descent, on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia.

The clergy, participants of the Armenian Church Representative Assembly, pilgrims and the faithful prayed for the strength, vibrancy and well-being of the independent Homeland.