Palm Sunday: the first Divine Liturgy celebrated by the newly ordained priest on the occasion of the feast

On April 10, 2022, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church celebrated the Feast of Palm Sunday, the Triumphant Entry of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem. From early morning the yards and nearby areas of the Cathedral of Saint George (Surb Gevork) in Tbilisi and Saint Etchmiadzin church in Avlabari, were crowded. The faithful were coming with a joyful mood to become a participant of the happiness of the Triumphant Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

After the Morning Service, in the Cathedral of Saint George and Saint Etchmiadzin church, crowded by faithful, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated.

The day was doubly festive in Saint George church, where under the presidency of the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, Rev. Father Archimandrite Kirakos Davtyan, newly ordained priest Rev. Father Hovsep Harutyunyan, the third member of the Harutyunyan family, who is devoted to the spiritual service in the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, celebrated his first Divine Liturgy. His grandfather, senior priest Rev. Father Yeghishe Harutyunyan, who serves in this church and his father Rev. Father Husik Harutyunyan attended the Divine Liturgy.

During the Divine Liturgy, the celebrant expressed his gratitude for blessing his devotion to the faith, for his involvement in spiritual service and entrusting him the preaching of the commandments of Almighty God. The priest, newly ordained by the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Damascus, His Grace Bishop Armash Nalbandyan, properly preached about the mystery of the Palm Sunday Feast and its spiritual message, and the last several episodes of earthly life of Jesus Christ.

A few years ago, the Feast of Palm Sunday was proclaimed as Children's Blessing Day by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, under the presidency of the Diocesan Primate, Blessing of Children Service was offered. The Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia congratulated Rev. Father Hovsep Harutyunyan on becoming a clergy in the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, and wished him devoted service.

The Feast was celebrated with Divine Liturgy and Blessing of Children Service in the Cathedral of Saint George in Tbilisi, Saint Etchmiadzin church in Avlabari, Saint Savior (Surb Prkich) church in Batumi, Holy Cross (Surb Khach) church of the Samtskhe – Javakheti and Tsalka’s General Prelacy in Akhalkalaki, Saint Gregory the Illuminator (Surb Grigor Lusavorich) church in Akhaltsikhe, Saint Sarkis church in Ninotsminda, as well as in the Armenian churches and nearby chapels of Rustavi, Marneuli, Tsalka, Tetritskaro in Kvemo Kartli region.

The flow of the faithful to the Armenian churches did not stop during the day. Spiritual fathers blessed the willow branches the faithful brought with them, which symbolized the special solemnity of the Feast.