St. Vahan of Goghtan was the son of Prince Khosrov, the Governor of the province of Goghten. During his childhood, together with many other Armenian princes, he was captured by the Arabs and taken to Damask where he was circumcised and renamed Vahab.

Archbishop Datev Gharibian was born on April 15, 1937, and baptized under Hovhannes.

He received his primary education at the St. Vartanantz Jesuit College of Aleppo, Syria. Upon graduation, he entered the St. James Seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and graduated in 1963. On July 21, 1963, he was ordained a celibate priest by Patriarch Yeghishe Derderian.the name Hovhannes.

In 1966, he received the rank of vartabed. From 1966 to 1980, he served the Armenian Church in Argentina. In 1980, he was elected to serve as the Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Brazil, and was consecrated a bishop on October 14, 1984, by His Holiness Vasken I, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. He was elevated to the rank of archbishop nine years later.

Throughout his Primacy, Archbishop Gharibian reorganized the Diocesan structure, renovated the Tourian National School, participated in ecumenical activities, and oversaw the Diocesan publication "Sipan."

In 2013, he was awarded the "St. Nerses Shnorhali" medal by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, on the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination.

One of the holy traditions of the Armenian Church is the Home Blessing Service, which according to St. Gregory of Datev was established by Our Savior Jesus Christ, when after His Resurrection He entered the upper room and blessed the disciples. When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews,Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." (John. 20:19). During the apostolic times, the twelve apostles of Jesus visited the homes of the faithful to bless them and to spread the good news of Christ's birth and His Resurrection. Likewise their followers - priests and bishops, entered the homes ofthe faithful on the occasions of Theophany and Easter (Holy Resurrection) to tell the good news of our Lord's Nativity and to bless them and their homes through a special Service.

Through the Home Blessing Service, the house of the faithful becomes a small church. 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:2). During the Service the priest prays to God and asks Him to keep the home, its inhabitants, and the children in good health, so that they live a devout life, glorify the name of Almighty God and heighten the Holy Church.

Love and peace are established in the sanctified home. Therefore, it is desirable that the faithful devoutly keep the graces from heaven, which filled their homes. But if sinful behavior dominates in the house it can never become a church inhabited by the Holy Trinity, saints and angels.

According to the sacred traditions of the Armenian Church, God's blessing is asked for homes on different occasions, like on the Nativity and the Resurrection of Christ, as well as on the joyous occasion of moving into a new home.

Holiday season is the time when homes are blessed by the Pastor. All parishioners who wish to have their homes blessed on the occasion of the Feast of the Theophany and Nativity of Christ should call Der Hovhan (847) 644-7389 to make arrangements. Have a piece of bread, dish of salt and glass of water available for the blessing.

I never had the chance to meet him. I was born in the nineteen-seventies, on Long Island, and he was born in the eighteen-eighties, in the Ottoman Empire, near the Euphrates River. He died in 1959-the year that the first spacecraft reached the moon, Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba, and Philip Roth published "Goodbye, Columbus," though I suspect he would have known nothing of those things. What he knew was privation, mass violence, famine, deportation-and how to survive, even flourish, amid such circumstances.

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1:30 - 4:00 pm

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.

January 19 - Commemoration of the Hermits Sts. Anton, Triphon, Parsam and Vonoprios

January 20 - Commemoration of King St. Theodos and Children of Ephesus

January 21 - Fast

January 22 - Commemoration of St. Kirakos and his mother Judithah, St. Vahan of Goghten, Saintly Martyrs Gordios, Poghiktos and Grigoris

January 23 - Fast

January 24 - Commemoration of the 150 Pontiffs participating in the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople

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Click here to read Parish Council's letter

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Selena Groh.