Fr. Findikyan to Present Keynote Lecture at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology

September 8, 2007

Fr. Daniel Findikyan, Seminary Dean and Professor of Liturgical Studies will present a lecture entitled,The Sacrament of Anointing the Sick in the Armenian and Byzantine Rites at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts on Thursday, October 4, 2007.

Sickness and Healing in the Patristic Period
The lecture will be one of several presented at a conference on the theme of Sickness and Healing in the Patristic Period sponsored by the Stephen and Catherine Pappas Patristic Institute of the Greek Orthodox Seminary. The conference will take place from October 4-6, 2007.

Anointing with Oil
=All of ancient churches East and West developed rituals of anointing the sick with holy oil and praying for them. These traditions were inspired directly from a passage in the Epistle of James in the New Testament, which reads:

Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

For centuries the Armenian Church too anointed its sick with oil, but in time, the anointing with oil gradually gave way to another ancient ritual, the laying-on of hands upon the sick person by the priest. The poignant prayers for the sick continued to be offered. 

In modern times the rites for the sick in almost all eastern traditions have fallen into disuse.

Fr. Findikyan, a specialist in the historical development of the liturgical services of the eastern churches, will survey the history of the rite of anointing the sick. He will focus on the rite in the Armenian Church.

---

Sister Seminaries

"I'm delighted to speak at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, a sister seminary which has been a beacon of Orthodoxy in North America and the western World," Fr. Findikyan said.

Fr. Daniel Findikyan teaches courses in the history, theology, interpretation and practice of liturgy at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. He is also recurring Visiting Professor of Liturgical Studies at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. He is the author of several books and scores of articles in his area of expertise, and lectures throughout the world. He is currently completing a book entitled,Frequently-Asked Questions on the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church

The Pappas Institute was founded in 2003 by the late Stephen Pappas and his wife Catherine with the goal of advancing and promoting eastern patristic studies and education in the service of the academy and the Church.

Further information can be found on the, Pappas Patristic Institute's website.

Fr. Daniel Findikyan speaking about the Armenian Sharagans (Hymns) at a recent lecture at St. Nersess