December 11, 2005
Seminary alumnus V. Rev. Fr. Simeon Odabashian, Pastor of Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church (Providence, RI) celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the Seminary community on Friday, December 9, 2005 on the feast of the Conception of Mary the Mother of God to Sts. Joachim and Anna.
The Feast of Mary's Conception is one of several feasts of the Mother of God in the calendar of the Armenian Church. It is celebrated each year on December 9.
Seminarians, faculty and friends gathered in the Seminary chapel in the wee hours of Friday morning for the Badarak, which had to be completed in time for the seminarians' 9AM classes.
As the St. Nersess community members offered the rite of public confession in preparation for the Divine Liturgy, the sky outside was white with snow as a Nor'Easter brushed New Rochelle on its way up the Eastern seaboard of the U.S.
Seminary alumnus V. Rev. Fr. Simeon Odabashian, Pastor of Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church (Providence, RI) celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the Seminary community on Friday, December 9, 2005 on the feast of the Conception of Mary the Mother of God to Sts. Joachim and Anna.
The Feast of Mary's Conception is one of several feasts of the Mother of God in the calendar of the Armenian Church. It is celebrated each year on December 9.
Seminarians, faculty and friends gathered in the Seminary chapel in the wee hours of Friday morning for the Badarak, which had to be completed in time for the seminarians' 9AM classes.
As the St. Nersess community members offered the rite of public confession in preparation for the Divine Liturgy, the sky outside was white with snow as a Nor'Easter brushed New Rochelle on its way up the Eastern seaboard of the U.S.
"The pristine beauty of the falling snow reminds us of the purity of the Virgin Mother, whom God chose as the vessel for our Savior's Advent into the world at Christmas," said Fr. Simeon during his sermon. He also read an extended passage from the Gospel of the Infancy, sometimes referred to as theProtoevangelion attributed to St. James, "the brother of the Lord." This ancient text preserves traditions about the infancy of Christ and his early childhood, which are not contained in the canonical Scriptures.
An ancient version of this precious text is preserved in Armenian. Dr. Abraham Terian is currently preparing a complete English translation of the Armenian version for publication. On Thursday evening at the home of Dr. Abraham and his wife Dr. Sara Terian, the seminarians and faculty did a round-robin reading of the passages of this text that tell the miraculous story of the parents of Mary, Sts. Joachim and Anna.
An ancient version of this precious text is preserved in Armenian. Dr. Abraham Terian is currently preparing a complete English translation of the Armenian version for publication. On Thursday evening at the home of Dr. Abraham and his wife Dr. Sara Terian, the seminarians and faculty did a round-robin reading of the passages of this text that tell the miraculous story of the parents of Mary, Sts. Joachim and Anna.
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