AGSA Holds Discussion Series at UCLA: “Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church” (Winter 08)

Alene Tchekmedyian
atchekmedyian@ucla.edu

In an effort to educate Armenian youth on traditional religious practices, the Armenian Graduate Students Association at UCLA held a multiple part discussion series this month titled, "Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church", informing interested students and community members about the basics of Krapar and the Divine Liturgy.

Spearheaded by James Hagop Tabibian, fourth year UCLA medical school student, the event attracted students from Glendale Community College, neighboring high schools, and graduate and undergraduate students at UCLA.

During the first session on February 5, Tabibian lectured about the history of the Armenian Church, the two main services of the Liturgy, and explained important phrases that are emphasized during the service. During the second lecture, on February 12, Tabibian read through the entire "Soorp Badarak", translating and explaining the significance of the prayers, all the while encouraging questions from his audience.

Tabibian explained that the faith is referred to as "Apostolic" because the Apostles, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, had an instrumental role in converting Armenians to Christianity, as they were the first to preach it in Armenia after the death of Jesus Christ. These Apostles are considered the original founders of our Church.

Armenians refer to the church as "Loosavorchagan", representing the influence of Saint Gregory the Illuminator. Saint Gregory was thrown in the deep pit, "Khor Virab", in which he was confined by King Dirtad III, for not worshipping the pagan goddess Anahid. Thirteen years later, the King’s sister requested that Saint Gregory be released from the pit so he could cure the King of his insanity. Since Saint Gregory survived in the pit for 13 years and cured the King, his Christian faith was adopted as the official faith of Armenia in 301 A.D.

Tabibian described the two main services, that both have two parts, of the Liturgy. The first is the Service for the Catechumens, which is for those who are not baptized. In this half, the priest undergoes spiritual preparation, vestment preparation, and altar preparation.

On the priest’s vestment preparation, Tabibian explains, "First he puts on is the crown to protect him. Then he puts on his robe, wristbands, and belt; each one symbolizes something different. One is to protect him from enemies, one is to keep his arms clean, and one is to keep his soul dedicated".

The second half of the service for the Catechumens is called the Synaxis. This includes the procession, during which the priest and his entourage enter the church, the Enarxis, which is the official beginning of the service, and the entrance of the Gospel.

The service for the Faithful begins with the Great Entrance, during which the Chalice, bread and wine are brought to the altar. Directly following is the Epiclesis, or the invocation to the Holy Spirit, after which the Faithful proceed in taking Holy Communion. Holy Communion is distributed as the communicant approaches the priest and confesses his sins by saying "Megha Asdoodzo". After asking for God’s mercy, the priest feeds a small portion of the Lord’s body and blood, bread dipped in wine, to the communicant. After this, the priest gives the final blessings, and the crowd is dismissed.

After summarizing the services, Tabibian discussed the language spoken in the Liturgy, which is called "Krapar". It is a classical Armenian that is an archaic hybrid of eastern and western Armenian.

Tabibian also explained the variations of Sunday services. During Feast days, such as Easter or the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, special prayers and songs are recited and sung during or after the standard Liturgy. On days that a special Requiem service is requested, the final blessing and dismissal is altered, and some additional prayers are recited.

Throughout the Liturgy, many phrases are constantly repeated; Tabibian translated and explained those of high frequency and importance. The blessing, "Khaghaghootyoon amenetzoon" means "peace unto all", and the Priest often blesses the congregation by first touching the Chalice, then turning to give God’s peace to the people. The congregation receives this blessing by making the sign of the cross.

The Deacons commonly chant the phrase, "Asdoodzo yergirbakestzook", which means, "Let us kiss the ground for God". With this being said, everyone in attendance of the service should bow down and make the sign of the cross. Tabibian said of this gesture, "It is a way of saying thank you for having me here and keeping me healthy".

Tabibian then explained more basic, yet ubiquitously stated terms such as, "Der Voghormia" and "Amen". "Der Voghormia" means, "Lord have mercy", and is the most elementary request one can make to God. "Amen" means, "let it be", and asks God to recognize our requests.
Tabibian has noticed an increased lack of effort among the Armenian youth to become accustomed with the Armenian faith.

"It is an intricate part of our culture and our tradition. I thought one way I could approach this was that I could put together a project focusing on the Divine Liturgy, and how to help young Armenians understand better our faith and what it stands for," he said.

"I think it’s okay for there to be separation between church and state, but I do not think there should be separation between the Armenian Graduate Student Association and church, because church is who we are. It is for the church that we have struggled and survived throughout the centuries. To separate us from our church is to strip us of everything we have, of all vitality," he added.