Our church Fathers have dedicated each of the Lenten Sundays to each of the mysteries that symbolize mankind's life-his birth, his sinning, his regret and his repentance. Each Sunday serves as an occasion for us to think of ways we can guide our human nature to do more good so that the period of Great Lent is more fruitful and productive.

The second Sunday of Great Lent is called the Sunday of Expulsion. The origins of this tradition, including its name, can be found in the Book of Genesis. Adam and Eve, having listened to the deceitful words of Satan, disobeyed the Divine Commandments and ate of the forbidden fruit. As punishment, God deprived Adam and Eve of eternal life, saying unto them, "You were made from soil and you will become soil again" (Exodus 3:19). However, God did not immediately take Adam and Eve's lives. Instead, He exiled them from the Garden of Eden and cursed them to a life of toil producing their own food: "So the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden and made him cultivate the soil from which he had been formed" (Exodus 3:23). God also cursed womankind to the pains of child birth. 

The Peace Service, the Rest Service and the Sunrise Service are performed more often during Lent than at other times of the year.  (Usually, Peace and Rest Services are performed only on Friday evenings.)  These three services are part of the Church's cycle of seven daily worship services but are of particular significance during Lent because they are penitential in nature and remind us of the effort we are making to restore our pure and joyous relationship with God.

The Peace Service consists of prayers for peace to end each day.  The prayers remind us that God is with us even in the face of trial and temptation.

The Rest Service, which comes just before retiring for the night, asks God's continuing care through the night. It includes the prayer of St. Nersess.

The Sunrise Service, performed first thing in the morning, reminds us that God is the giver of the light of morning and the light of salvation.  Its beautiful prayers and hymns reflect the fresh and serene quality of the most beautiful time of day. This service is performed in our churches before or after Sunday morning liturgy.

The Sunrise Service is performed traditionally during Lent, on the mornings of Wednesdays and Fridays for six consecutive weeks. Here in this country for convenience we sing it on Sundays, following the closed Badarak. By virtue of its message the Sunrise Service is performed during Lent, the message being Jesus, the Light to the World, versus the sinful darkness of the World. However, the traditional title of the service prescribes that the Sunrise Service is addressed to the Holy Spirit in view of the Resurrection of Christ who appeared to the disciples.

The first mention of the Sunrise Service in the history of the Armenian Church is made by Catholicos John of Otsoon, the Patriarch of the Armenian Church during the 8th century, who reports that one of his immediate predecessors, Catholicos Ezr of Paraznakert had initiated the Sunrise Service during the 7th century. In its present structure and form, however, this service is obviously the composition of St. Nerses Shnorhali, the talented Catholicos of the Armenians who lived in the 12th century and enriched both the hymnal and the breviary of the Armenian Church most elaborately.

To render the history of the Sunrise Service more complete, we may look into the causes which brought about its formation and its canonization. In my opinion St. Nersess Shnorhali reacted to the activities of a certain sect, known as the Arevordik (sons of the sun), who claimed to be Christians, but who emphasized the sun worship. They were the remnants of the early midieval Paulician and Tontrakian sects and were not in communion either with the Armenian or the Byzantine Orthodox churches, basically because they rejected the sacraments of the church, the priestly orders, and the apostolic succession.

Nerses Shnorhali, in fact, has included in his famous Indhanrakan (collection of Encyclicals) the possibility of the conversion of the Arevordik, the sons of the sun. My opinion holds ground even more when we consider the fact that a group from this particular sect had requested Catholicos Nersess Shnorhali to receive them back into his flock. Subsequently, besides formulating conditions and devices for the lapsed to return canonically back to the Armenian Church faith, St. Nersess composed this beautiful Sunrise Service and then provided it with an inspiring music as a substitute, as a positive compromise, to win over those who had gone astray. He simply juxtaposed the Son of God Jesus and the sun of the universe and underlined the shining of the intelligent light, above and beyond the physical light of the sun, in a deeply spiritual perspective. (To be continued)

This Sunday,after Divine Liturgy, the altar curtain will be closed for the forty days of Great Lent and will not be reopened until Palm Sunday (April 13th). There will also be no offering of Holy Communion during Divine Liturgy until Palm Sunday. (Should anyone desire Holy Communion during Great Lent, please contact Father Hovhan for special dispensation.) 

In addition to these two major changes, the following changes also occur to the celebration of Divine Liturgy during Great Lent:

• There is no Kiss of Peace during the Divine Liturgy
• The Holy Gospel Book is not venerated after worship
• Hymns are sung in penitential manner
• The organ is not played when you depart from the sanctuary
• All should remain silent when exiting the sanctuary after worship in respect of those who remain for devotional prayers
• Wedding are not celebrated

Please join Birthright Armenia for an inspiring evening and presentation on volunteer opportunities in Armenia for students, working professionals, mid-career individuals, and retirees presented by Linda Yepoyan, Executive Director of Birthright Armenia, Friday, March 14th, 7:00 pm, at the St. James Armenian Apostolic Church of Evanston, 816 Clark Street, Evanston

Birthright Armenia sponsors young diasporans from around the world, 20-32 years old, on a life-changing journey to Armenia in exchange for community service.  Participants get to experience every aspect of the Homeland's modernity and ancient treasures with hundreds of their peers from around the world, while gaining valuable work experience in their field of interest.  Birthright Armenia sponsorship includes travel fellowships, homestay living, educational forums, weekly excursions and language instruction, all designed to provide a total immersion experience for the volunteers.  To date, over 820 volunteers from 31 different countries have been sponsored by Birthright Armenia in Armenia.  To learn more visit:  www.birthrightarmenia.org.  Armenian Volunteer Corps, a sister organization of Birthright Armenia, is a registered, non-profit foundation in Armenia that provides skilled volunteers, 21 years of age and over, with the opportunity to share their talents with Armenia for terms ranging from one month to one year. Volunteers need not be of Armenian heritage to serve.  To learn more about AVC programs, visit:  http://www.armenianvolunteer.org

Click here for the flyer.

Armenian Churches of IL and WI invite you to attend

Saintly Women's Day

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Church Service: 11:00 AM

Luncheon and Program: 12:00 PM

Guest Speaker

Rev. Fr. Vazken Movsessian, Founder of Datev Outreach

Topic

Reaching out to families affected by Domestic Violence -

Healing the pain with the LOVE of Christ

Hosted by St. John the Baptist Armenian Church (Greenfield, WI)

Luncheon/Program $15:00

For Luncheon reservation kindly inform Yeretzgin Diana Keutelian by March 9th by calling (847)485-9610 or Diane Blinka (414)423-1358

Calling all youth!

The summer conferences dates have been announced and registration forms will be available soon. Each conference is limited to only 25 participants. Please save the date as you make your summer plans! For information regarding this year's special Deacons' Training Program, please contact the program director, Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan, at [email protected].

High School Summer Conference A: 

July 14 - 23

High School Summer Conference B: 

July 26 - August 4

Post High School Summer Conference: 

August 6 - 12

Coffee hour tables can be simple or complex.  Sometimes when people do a coffee hour table they put out coffee cakes and doughnuts; sometimes they put out some fruits. Others put out entire lunch. We encourage you to sign up for coffee hour a couple of times each year. It can be simple or an entire meal - either is fine. The sign-up sheet is in the church hall.