MURON BLESSING KICKS OFF WEEK OF CELEBRATIONS AT THE HOLY SEE

His Holiness Catholicos Aram I will preside over the blessing of the Holy Muron on the evening of Friday, July 1, at the Monastery of the Great House of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon, with the participation of all members of the Brotherhood of the Catholicosate, as well as representatives of the Holy See of Echmiadzin, the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Constantinople, official personalities, and thousands of people. The ceremony, repeated every seven years, will be the first in a week stacked with significant dates at the Holy See. 

The following day, the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, in Jounieh, Lebanon, will host a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Catholicos Aram’s election.  A special Divine Liturgy and a Patriarchal Thanksgiving Prayer will follow on Sunday. In the evening, the graduation ceremony of Theological Seminary students will be held at the monastery of the Holy Virgin of Bikfaya. 

On July 4-5, the Brotherhood Assembly will convene with the participation of all its members, including Archbishop Anoushavan, Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy, along with the other Brotherhood members serving in the Prelacy who also traveled to Lebanon to take part in the celebrations and activities scheduled for this busy week: Very Rev. Fr. Sahag Yemishian, Vicar and Pastor of Sts. Vartanantz Church (Ridgefield, NJ); Very Rev. Fr. Boghos Tinkjian, Pastor of All Saints Church (Glenview, IL), and Very Rev. Fr. Ardag Arabian, Pastor of Holy Trinity Church (Worcester, MA).