SUNDAY, May 25, 2014
Sixth Sunday of Eastertide
Morning Service: 9:15 AM
Divine Liturgy: 10:00 AM
Bible Readings: Acts 20:17-38; 1 John 3:2-6; John 9:39-10:10
This Sunday the Zadig Youth Choir of St. James will join our Church Choir in singing the Divine Liturgy under the direction of Dn. Kavork Hagopian.
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Why do we kiss the Cross and the Gospel?
 During certain parts of the Divine Liturgy and other services, Armenian Christians kiss the Cross (the priest's bejeweled hand-cross or, on the Feast of the Cross in September, a larger cross decorated with flowers and basil), and the liturgical book of the Gospels in veneration. To kiss these sacred objects is a way of expressing our faith in what they stand for. The cross is the symbol of God's sacrificial love for us, and the Gospel book contains the Word of God, the highest authority for a Christian's life. When you kiss the Cross you are professing its saving power over your life and showing your love for God. It is like a prayer in which you say, "Jesus, I need the protection and life that flow from your crucifixion and resurrection. Help me to know you and to love you more deeply." When you kiss the Gospel, you are saying, "Christ, you are the meaning of my life. Help me to trust you through your Word." When we kiss the Cross, the Gospel or another sacred object, you should cross yourself. What is the correct way to leave the church at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy? The Divine Liturgy concludes when the priest, standing in the center of the chancel, offers a dismissal benediction: "Orhnyalt yegherook ee shnorhats soorp Hakvooyn. Yertayk khaghaghootyamp yev Der yegheetsee unt Tsez unt amenesyant. Amen" ("May you be blessed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Depart in peace and may the Lord be with you all. Amen"). At this point, any presiding clergy, the deacons, altar servers, choir members and then all the people approach the celebrant priest and kiss the ornamented liturgical Gospel book which he is holding in his hands. When kissing the Gospel book say: "Heeshestseh Der zamenayn Badarakus ko yev zookhdus untoonelee arastseh" ("May the Lord remember all of your offering and make your sacrifices acceptable"). You are praying that all of the liturgies celebrated by the priest - and by extension, everything the priest does in his ministry - be pleasing and acceptable to the Lord. The priest should say this to you: "Daseh kez Der usd surdee koom yev zamenayn khorhootus ko na gadarastseh" ("May the Lord bless you according to your heart, and may he realize all of your intentions"). These lines correspond to Psalm 19(20):3-4. Make the sign of the cross as you kiss the Gospel book. Before you step out of the church sanctuary, turn toward the alter and cross yourself.
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From "Frequently-Asked QUESTIONS on the Badarak, the Divine Liturgy
of the Armenian Church" by Fr. Michael Daniel Findikyan
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The Topic of the Upcoming Sunday Sermon
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"Are We Blind Too?"
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"A checkered history: why Armenia dominates the chess world"
 Armenia triumphed in the most recent Chess Olympiad - a particularly joyous checkmate for the country, as the contest was held in Istanbul. It often beats the globally mightier chess superpowers like Russia, China, the US and Ukraine. It also claimed the crown (or, indeed, the king) in 2006 and 2008 - which is two in a row; the Chess Olympiad is bi-annual. It has one of the highest numbers of grandmasters per capita in the world. The country's obsession with chess transcends all age groups. You can see this in a 2009 BBC World Service report titled 'Armenia: the cleverest nation on earth', which notes "four generations" turning out to watch its champion Levon Aronian play a match in the Armenian mountains. It describes "young kids aged five, six, seven years old and grizzled old men in sunglasses." Click here to read the article. |
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Items Used On The Altar Table
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CHALICE (SUHGEEH)
A general term for cups, especially those with a stem and base; but now it is exclusively used with reference to the cup used in the Divine Liturgy. The chalice must be of silver (if not the base at least the cup) and gold plated inside. Its shape and ornamentation are matters if taste. In some old monasteries there are chalices in which it is possible to dip a wafer large enough to suffice for the communion of thousands of pilgrims.
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CORPORAL (KORPOURA)
The clean and ornate linen which is placed under the chalice during the Divine Liturgy, and represents the shroud in which our Lord was wrapped in his burial.
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(From "A Dictionary of the Armenian Church"
by Archbishop Malachia Ormanian)
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Let's Learn Armenian
Did You Know That...
The Badarak, not counting the priest's prayers, is about 4,700 words long, but has only 1,400 different roots, of which 200 constitute approximately 80% of the text. Եւ (Yev = and) is the most common word; it occurs 438 times and constitutes nearly 10% of the text. This means that if you knew only the word եւ , you'd already understand 1 out of every 10 words of the Mass. Moreover, if you knew only 200 words and their variants you would understand 8 out of every 10 words in the Mass.
Every week you can learn two of the 50 most commonly used words in the Badarak here:
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Armenian
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Phonetic
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English
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Աստուած
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Asdvadz
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God
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Օրհնեա, օրհնեալ
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Orhnya, orhnyal
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Bless, blessed
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Here are the words you have already learned:
Եւ (yev), Սուրբ (soorp), Ի (ee),Տէր (der).
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2014 Membership Dues
 If you are not already a 2014 dues-paid member, please consider becoming one. New members must pay dues by JUNE 30 in order to be eligible to vote during the Parish Assembly on January 2015.
Do you know that now you can pay your dues with your credit card? Ask Vahan Janjigian or Debbie DerAsadourian.
Forms are available in the church office or here.
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Photo of the Week
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Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
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Altar Guild's Wish List
1. Two jajanch radiances (ostensorium). $300-600 each . Pledged.
2. Painting of St. James of Nisibis. $1000. Not pledged.
3. Painting of St. Stephen the Protodeacon. $1000. Not pledged.
4. Priest's 'half-vestments'. $500. Not pledged.
5. Censer stand- $400. Pledged
Sunday School's Wish List
1. Cabinet for storage of books and supplies. Not pledged.
2. Room furniture for students and teachers. Not pledged.
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Prayer of the Week
Heavenly Father and true God, who sent Your beloved Son to seek the lost sheep, I have sinned against Heaven and before You, receive me as the Prodigal Son, and cloth me with the garment of which I was deprived by sin. Have mercy on Your creatures and especially on me, a great sinner.
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FEASTS
May 29 - Feast of the Holy Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ
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ACYOA JRS. MEETING
The St. James ACYOA Juniors will be getting together for an informal meeting to gauge interest and talk about upcoming projects on
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014
at 7 PM
at St James Armenian Church
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WOMEN'S GUILD DAY
Sunday, June 22, 2014
after Divine Liturgy
Join us in honoring the members
of St. James Women's Guild
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ST. JAMES ARMENIAN CHURCH
INVITES YOU
TO DER HOVHAN'S PRESENTATION
"ARMENIAN CHURCH IN
THE UNITED STATES"
(In Armenian)
Saturday, June 28, 2014
at 6 PM
followed by Potluck Dinner
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CLASS OF 2014 GRADUATES
If you have a graduate in your family or know of someone who is graduating, please send us their information.
If you are a graduate, please submit the school you are graduating from , the school you will be attending (if applicable), course of study (if applicable), degree earned and future plans.
We are planning to host a reception to honor our graduates on June 22.
Call or e-mail the Church office before June 18.
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EASTER HOME BLESSING
Easter season is the time when homes are blessed by the Pastor. All parishioners who wish to have their homes blessed on the occasion of Easter 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.
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YOUTH ISSUE OF E-BULLETIN
Click here to access our special E-Bulletin featuring numerous programs (camps, retreats, training, scholarships, etc) made available to you by our parish, the Diocese, St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, AGBU, Armenian Assembly of America and the RA Ministry of Diaspora.
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The Chicago Affiliate of the
ARMENIAN INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION
An evening with JACKIE KAZARIAN Musical performance by Sima Cunningham Saturday June 28, 5:00 - 8:00 PM At Kazarian Studio 122 W. Kinzie St. 2nd floor, Chicago $20 per person Questions? Call Greta Doumanian-Harley (312)213-3765 |
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"If you hate, it means you are conquered."
Confucius
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E-BULLETIN ARCHIVE IS NOW AVAILABLE
Missed or accidentally deleted any of the previous E-Bulletins?
You can read all our previous issues in the archive here.
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