By Zohrab Pilavdjian
Front and centre, that is the pew you will find me at every Sunday morning in the House of God where it is centre stage to a glorious presentation for our Lord.
This is my church, the Armenian Church, where people of all ages come together to pray and experience the beautiful hymns. It is where our culture meets Christianity.
The Sunday mass begins with the deacons and the Celebrant passing through the congregation known as Censing. While the procession circles the church, the choir sings the Hymn of Censing where I hear a wonderful melody emitting out.
They sing to the Lord about how we are all gathered to offer Him incense and to accept our prayers as the sacrifice of Abel, Noah and Abraham. The outstanding words send a spark, which ignites my spirit with glory and prepares me for our worship ahead.
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As our Liturgy continues, I see the Sunday school students heading in, all being guided by their teachers. They come and actively participate in our mass without hesitation. When I see the children absorb our spirit through our culture, I can’t help but feel touched. “We want them to learn and experience the church and the songs” one teacher told me “It makes me feel happy and comforted to see their participation” |
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My heart is now at full capacity and I am actively expressing my joyous feelings for God alongside of the parishioners. My feelings intensify as the choir spills out the music and as the deacons put on their performance. Throughout the Sunday service we are asked to bow down to God and for the Lord to have mercy. I pick up the book of our Divine Liturgy and follow along. This book is a useful tool when it comes to understanding our Divine Liturgy. Written in Armenian, Armenian using Latin script and an English translation, our entire holy mass is captured and put into words. |
With the book in my hand, I sing with the congregation the many hymns that are sung but the one special to me is Soorp, Soorp meaning Holy, Holy. Each time the one syllable Armenian word is stretched across the many musical bars, a bell is struck sending a vibration throughout our entire holy place of worship that words cannot describe. We all continue singing along (during this hymn) saying how heaven and earth are filled with His glory and how blessed He is who came in the name of the Lord.
The air is now filled with the aroma of incense and as we continue glorifying our Lord with all our might, I notice everything is becoming louder and louder. How can a people only 8 million worldwide have such a strong voice? It far surpasses the experience of a symphony orchestra. And as we all rise up, join together to sing The Lords Prayer, the place becomes full of energy.
But there is a time when all that energy cools down and the atmosphere takes a more quiet approach.
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It is when we all come down on our knees to sing Der Voghormya. This Armenian statement, which means Lord Have Mercy, is repeated many times back to back. It is a time when we ask the most Holy Trinity to give us peace on earth and to heal the sick. While I am kneeled, I say a few prayers in my head. It is an important time in our church, although it is not as loud as what was mentioned above, it is equally powerful. |
This is over 1700 years of Christianity at its best. When I am here, I feel a joy, a warmth and at times a little teary-eyed. It is something our ancestors had to struggle to keep. There is an empty seat next to me, why don’t you come and join me?
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” Psalms 34:4