Last Sunday, December 27, Holy Martyrs celebrated St. Stephen’s Day – a day commemorating the life and sacrifice of St. Stephen, the first deacon and Christian martyr. During the beginning of Badarak, our deacons donned priestly crowns in honor of St. Stephen and in recognition of their humble service on the altar during the past year. At the conclusion of Badarak, the deacons sang a special sharagan while incensing the congregation and wearing crowns. Thank you to our deacons – Garbis Martayan, Hagop Yagliyan, Sason Demirjian, Krikor Ghazarian, Karnik Kilicyan, and Alexander Calikyan. “May God grant you long lives, spiritual strength, prosperity and the ability to follow in the footsteps of St. Stephen,” said Fr. Abraham.