Throughout the centuries, the Armenian Church maintains the beautiful biblical tradition of celebrating important feast days according to the different seasons of the year. Thus, for example, the season of Lent is followed by the season of Resurrection, or Eastertide, the latter being the season of fifty days that span from the day of Easter to the feast of Pentecost. The reason for the fifty days is the historical fact that, according to the Gospels, Jesus continued appearing to His followers for forty days following His resurrection. On the fortieth day, which always falls on a Thursday, He ascended to heaven. Ten days after the Ascension, as promised by Christ, the Holy Spirit descended upon His followers who were gathered in one place. This makes the period between Easter and the descent of the Holy Spirit 50 days, thus the name of the feast, Pentecost.

According to the book of Acts, the apostles were all together, “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house….Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them and a tongue rested on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:1-4). It was this event that endowed the apostles with the power of the Holy Spirit to go out of their seclusion and hiding and gave them the knowledge of different languages to go out and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the new covenant of God with His people. Consequently, this event is seen by the earliest Christian communities as the birth of the Church. It is thanks to the Pentecost that two of the Apostles, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, were able to travel to Armenia and preach and convert the Armenians to Christianity. Meanwhile, the rest of the Apostles travelled all over the world, thanks to the same event, witnessing to the same gospel to nations and peoples around the world.

By the time this issue of Narrec makes it to your home, Eastertide should be almost over and we should be in the season of Pentecost. So, why not take a moment to thank God for His gift of Church and specifically for the Armenian Church. As we celebrate these blessed days we are specifically thankful to the Lord for the gift of the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs, our own abode here in Bayside, New York.

“Happy Birthday” Church!

                                                                              In His Service,

                                                                              Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian