During the reign of King Kostandianos the Great (285-337), St. Sarkis, being very courageous, was appointed Prince and General-in-Chief of the region of Cappadocia bordering Armenia. Then, during the period of reign of King Julianos the Betrayer (360-363) when Christians were being harshly persecuted, by God's will St. Sarkis and his only son, Mardiros, came to live in Armenia, and the Armenian ruler, King Tiran, grandson of Tiridates, received them very well.

From Armenia St. Sarkis and his son went on to Persia to serve as the captain of a regiment in King Shapouh's army. However, when he became aware that Sarkis was Christian, King Shapouh ordered him to worship fire and offer sacrifice to heathen gods. But Captain Sarkis refused to obey the order, saying, "We should worship one God-the Holy Trinity-which created both heaven and earth, for fire and idols are not gods since any human may destroy them."

After these words St. Sarkis destroyed the temple. The annoyed crowd then fell on him and his son, Mardiros. Mardiros was martyred, and St. Sarkis was put into prison, where, remaining unshaken in his faith, he was eventually beheaded. After the martyrdom of the saint, light appeared over his body.  Fourteen of his soldiers/companions were also martyred for their Christian faith.

For the Armenian nation, St. Sarkis is one of the most beloved saints. Many miracles are attributed to his intercession. In fact, St. Mesrop Mashtots brought relics of the saint to the village of Karbi in the Ashtarak Region and built the Church of St. Sarkis over them. In Armenia, it is accepted to celebrate the Feast of St. Sarkis not only according to the rites and prayers of the Church, but also according to various folk traditions. St. Sarkis the Captain is considered the patron saint of youth. On the day of his feast, young people pray to the saint asking him to make their prayers audible to God, in particular their prayers for a happy marriage.

Pontiff St. Sahak Partev was the elder son of Catholicos St. Nersess the Great, and the last Catholicos of the Armenian Church who descended from the lineage of St. Gregory the Illuminator. He became Catholicos of All Armenians in 387 A.D., and reigned for an astounding 52 years. Being talented in music and educated in the rhetorical arts, philosophy and linguistics, St. Sahak greatly contributed to the development of Armenian national culture. He was the strongest advocate for the creation of an Armenian Alphabet, and became its chief patron.

Following the creation of the Armenian Alphabet, St. Sahak and St. Mesrop opened a school for translators in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin). There they begin the translation of the Holy Bible into Armenian and did it so perfectly, that centuries hence the Armenian Translation is called the "Queen Translation of the Breath of God". The first sentence translated from the Holy Bible is the opening verse of the Book of Proverbs: "To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding".

Following the session of the State Commission on Coordination of the events for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, President Serzh Sargsyan, in company with the commission members and the participants of the enlarged session, today visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, laid a wreath at the Memorial to the Victims of the Mets Eghern and paid tribute to the memories of the innocent victims. Later on, the members of the state commission familiarized with the preparatory works of the new exhibition to be held at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

At the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex there also took place the promulgation ceremony of the Pan-Armenian Declaration on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The declaration was adopted unanimously at today's session of the State Commission on Coordination of the events for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. President Serzh Sargsyan read the document and deposited it with the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

A museum dedicated to the 19th - 20th century Armenian composer Komitas was officially opened Thursday, January 29th in Yerevan's Komitas Park. Under Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian's proposal, a resolution to build the museum was passed by the Board of Trustees of the Hayastal All-Armenian Fund in May of 2013.

"The Komitas Museum-Institute is the symbol of the unity and revival of the Armenian people," President Sarkisian said at the opening ceremony, speaking to an audience in the Museum's concert hall. "Komitas Vardapet joined together what is spiritual and worldly, noble and peasant, Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian, thus proving the artificial nature of those, as well as many other dividing lines. By this, he became the pioneer and guarantor of the new march of the Armenian people as genocide survivors, highlighting and passing on a huge layer of civilization to us."

"I am glad that owing to this museum, the unmatched legacy of Komitas can now become a subject of systematic study and wide recognition both in Armenia and worldwide. Komitas is the living part of our cultural life who continues to lead us through the complex crossroads of this new millennium," Sarkisian said.

Click here for photos.

"It was a-how do you call it in English?-a genocide? Yes? It was a genocide," says Murat Yazar. "My grandmother told my mother about it."

My walking guide and I are wandering through Ani.

What is Ani? It is the ruin of a vanished world in modern Turkey: the remote and beautiful site of a forgotten civilization-the 1,100-year-old capital of a once powerful empire. Relics of this Silk Road city lie scattered across the sky-hammered mesas of far northeastern Anatolia. Broken cathedrals. Rotting ramparts that defend nothing from nothing. Empty boulevards that go nowhere. We roam this colossal diorama of stillness, of eerie silence, Murat and I, as if painted into a Dali dreamscape. We are talking about the disappearance of Armenians from the region.

Click here to read the article published in the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Magazine.

If you know of a person whose Name Day or Feast Day is being celebrated, honor the person by presenting them with a lit candle and saying "anoonovut abrees" or "anoonovut dzeranas" "may you grow old with your name" which in turns means wishing the person a long life. Or, you can simply say, Happy Name Day. 

NAME DAYS celebrated this week: Sarkis, Mardiros, Adom, Sukias, Vosgi, Sahak, Isahak.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide with a powerful symposium that examines the United States' response to the genocide through the lens of the Near East Relief, the first non-governmental, non-sectarian, ecumenical effort of its kind. Panelists: Dr. Stephen Smith, USC Shoah Foundation; Dr. Peter Balakian, Colgate University; Shant Mardirossian, Near East Foundation; and Omer Ismail, Enough Project and Darfur genocide survivor.

Co-presented by Near East Relief Historical Society/Near East Foundation, in partnership with Armenian National Committee of Illinois.