Celebration of Feast of Assumption of Holy Mother of God at Saint Etchmiadzin church and blessing of Khachkar

On August 17, 2025, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God. It is the fourth of the five major feasts and the oldest celebration dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The feast was marked in all churches of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia with the Divine Liturgy and the ceremony of the blessing of grapes.

At the Saint Etchmiadzin Church in Avlabar, Tbilisi, the festive Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Grace Bishop Kirakos Davtyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese Georgia.

During the Divine Liturgy, His Grace the Bishop, the celebrant, preached on the mystery of the day, the Great Mission of the Holy Mother of God, her Dormition, Resurrection, and Assumption. He emphasized the love of the Armenian Church toward the Holy Virgin Mary, reflected on the relationship between mother and son, and encouraged the faithful to preserve the sanctity of family life, maternal love, and filial devotion. The Diocesan Primate congratulated the faithful, especially the mothers and those bearing the name Mary, on the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the Diocesan Primate reflected on the mystery of the Blessing of Grapes. He interpreted the grape as a symbol of the human person, and likened the vine’s roots in the soil to the faithful’s attachment to the Church through faith. The solemn ceremony of the Blessing of Grapes was then performed at the altar.

The festive day also became a historic one. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, in the courtyard of Saint Etchmiadzin Church, proudly standing in Tbilisi’s central, Armenian-populated Avlabari district since 1805, a consecration ceremony of a newly erected khachkar was performed by His Grace Bishop Kirakos Davtyan, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, with the participation of clergy and deacons. The khachkar, carved with ornaments, depicting Saint Sarkis the Warrior, was dedicated to the 220th anniversary of Saint Etchmiadzin Church. The installation of the khachkar was realized through the benefaction of a Tbilisi Armenian patron.

On the occasion of the unveiling of the newly consecrated khachkar, His Grace Bishop Kirakos Davtyan congratulated those present, reflected on the symbolic meaning of the khachkar, and expressed his gratitude to the benefactor for this church-dedicated deed.