Catholicos leads Christmas liturgy in Etchmiadzin

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany of Jesus Christ on January 6. In the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Christmas liturgy was led by Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.

Among the attendees were former officials and opposition figures, including Levon Kocharyan, son of Armenia’s second president and current MP from the Hayastan parliamentary faction, along with his wife, fellow MP Artur Khachatryan, former MP Armen Charchyan, former Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian, former Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan, and former Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan, according to Sputnik Armenia.

In contrast, government representatives, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, attended the Christmas liturgy at Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Yerevan.

That service was led by Bishop Anushavan Jamkochyan, one of the bishops who has joined the campaign calling for the resignation of the Catholicos.

Also present were President Vahagn Khachaturyan, National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan, Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan, Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan, and other officials.

Numerous officers from the State Protection Service were seen at the church premises.

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s planned visit to Saint Anna Church at 1:00 p.m., extensive police presence was reported on nearby Abovyan and Sayat-Nova streets in Yerevan.

City sanitation crews using special equipment cleaned the courtyard of the church and surrounding areas, according to Panorama.am.

On the morning of January 6, the Holy Liturgy was held in all churches, followed by the Blessing of the Water ceremony. According to church tradition, the immersion of the cross in water symbolizes Christ’s entry into the Jordan River. The water is blessed with the cross and holy chrism, and the faithful take some home for healing and blessing.

On this feast, believers greet one another with the traditional words: “Christ is born and revealed,” to which the response is: “Blessed is the revelation of Christ.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and ten bishops and archbishops who have called for the Catholicos’s resignation have issued a statement urging participation in the reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Pashinyan read the declaration on Facebook Live, after which the supporting clergy signed it. He announced the formation of a coordinating council to oversee the Church reform process. New members can only be added by unanimous decision.