January 6

On the occasion of the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray to God that He may grant everyone good health, joy, and peace on Earth. To our people in Artsakh and Armenia strength, unity and peace.

To you and us good news!

Christ is born and revealed.

Blessed is the revelation of Christ.

Click below for a seasonal greeting from St. Mary Choir Members

Shnorhavor Soorb Dznoond!

January 8, 2023

Morning Service 

10:00 AM

Holy Badarak 

10:30 AM

Celebrant

Rev. Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan 

Usher

Garbis Chubukian

Parish Council Members on Duty

Catherine Sahakian

Choir

Mrs. Edita Kalayjian

Organist

Mrs. Karine Muradyan

Bible Readings: 

Mt 3:1-4:11

Heb 1:1-12

Mt 2:13-23

For the Soul of:

Ruben Hayrabedyan

 Requested by:

Karine Muradyan , Arek Hayrabedyan and Family

For the soul of :

Harry & Zarouhi Deloian 

 Requested by:

Vahe and Ruzanna Ghazarian

To request a Hokehankist/Requiem Service 

Please contact the Church Office

by 12:00 Noon on Thursday

202-363-1923

or Click here to see the form

Altar Flowers are donated by:

Mrs. Elizabeth Naltchayan & Neshan Naltchayan

Prayer of the Week

Lord, please keep watch over your faithful people, and protect the holy soil of Artsakh and Armenia—now and always. Foil every aggressor against our homeland. Defend the innocent and voiceless, Lord. Console all those who grieve, and remember those who sacrificed their very lives in your Name. Deliver your faithful children from conflict, and bestow your peace on all mankind.

     With your peace, Christ our savior, which surpasses all understanding and speech, defend us and keep us fearless of all evil. Make us equal to your true worshipers, who worship you in spirit and in truth; for to the most-holy Trinity is befitting glory, dominion, and honor, now and always. Amen.

We thank all of our parishioners and friends

for making their

Yughakin, Poinsettias, and In Lieu of Christmas Card Donations

On the Occasion of the Feast of Nativity and Theophany of our Lord

The Blessing of Pomegranates  

A beautiful traditional service of the Blessing of Pomegranates took place at St. Mary Church on Sunday, January 1st, after the Badarak, which was celebrated by our guest clergy Fr. Guregh Hambardzumyan. Throughout the centuries, the pomegranate has been woven into Armenian architecture, cuisine, art, manuscripts, literature, and liturgical vestments as it represents life, fertility, and abundance. In 2015 the Supreme Patriarch of the Armenian Church, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians, Introduced a new service for the Blessing of the Pomegranates, one of the seven biblical species of fruits and grains, at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The blessed pomegranates were distributed to the faithful with a wish to bring prosperity and abundance in the year 2023.

Special Gift for St. Mary Gift Shop

St. Mary gift shop is offering limited numbers of imported bottles of medieval Armenian health elixirs formulated from ancient manuscripts deciphered at the Matendaran Museum of Ancient Armenian Manuscripts. These elixirs are made in Armenia by Armen Sahakyan, a pharmacologist and botanical scholar who has been working at the Matenadaran Museum for the last several decades. A trained medical doctor ordained a deacon in 1997, Sahakyan has dedicated his life to the maintenance of Armenia’s sacred botanical traditions.

The three different batches available at our gift shop (Royal Elixir, Arates Elixir and Arates Tonic) are made from a codified recipe of medieval Armenian medicine, using a special distillation process. They contain medicinal and aromatic plants, known for their healing properties. Through the distillation and aging process alcohol is created, so think of them as perhaps Armenia’s first (healthy) cognac! 

The supplies are limited and each bottle is numbered, including the batch and year of production. All of the bottles were donated to St Mary Church, so 100% of the proceeds will go to the St Mary Endowment Fund, with a portion also going to support Armenian clergy serving in Artsakh.

"Embrace the Future" Endowment Fund

Dear Parishioners and Friends, 

This year we celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the St. Mary Community and Church with the launch of the new "Embrace the Future" Endowment Fund to help ensure our church has the resources needed to continue serving our beloved community.  

Just as you plan for your future and that of your family, please join us in planning for the future of St. Mary Church. 

We are asking for your support so that St. Mary will be able to continue to fulfill her mission for future generations.  

The link below lists various opportunities for you to make a meaningful gift of lasting significance that will help support our church's long-term security, visibility, and vitality. Please consider making either a one-time gift or pledge, which would allow you to make payments over a five-year period.

Dear Parishioner,

It is that time of the year again to remind our dear parishioners of their dues and pledges to St. Mary Armenian Church.

As a reminder, the dues are $250 per person and $500 per family and are due by December 31, 2022.

We depend on our faithful parishioners and their monetary contributions. Your membership dues not only ensure your voting privileges during our annual assembly but also shows your commitment to your church. Your support enables us to continue our mission of preaching the Word of God, reaching out to our community, and bringing the rich and wonderful blessings of our heritage and identity to all for the glory of God.



We thank you for your generous past support and hope you will continue your commitment to your church.

Join St. Mary's Prayer Group

We are initiating a new form of ministry at St. Mary Armenian Church. For parishioners who would like to make an electronic prayer request, they can do so by Clicking Here.

A group of volunteers will receive the request and pray at their earliest convenience. Additionally, a new physical prayer request box will be placed at the entrance of St. Mary Armenian Church with blank forms that anyone can fill out and drop in the box. These requests will be retrieved weekly and delivered to the members of the volunteer prayer group. If you would like to become one of the volunteers of the Prayer Group please email us. 

Please click on the link below to present your request. 

Armenian Speaking Caregivers Available

For information please contact the church office at 202-363-1923 or  stmarychurchdc@gmail.com

Part-time help needed

Rockville Town Center (a few minutes walk from the Rockville Metro stop on the Red Line), for details, contact Lilit at "Saints Valley" Boutique:   https://www.instagram.com/saintsvalley/?hl=en

Buy a Brick and Leave Your Legacy at

St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church

Bricks can be ordered and purchased by clicking below and

filling out a simple online order form.

You can choose to have a 4" x 8" brick

which includes your preselected

3 lines of 20 characters per line of text.

Or you can choose to have the

Armenian Cross artwork on the 4" x 8" brick

which includes your preselected

3 lines of 15 characters per line of text.

Order Today While Quantities Last!

Payment can be made with PayPal or a Credit Card.

Legacy Brick Donations are Tax Deductible.

“Hope Never Disappoints Us”: His Holiness’ Message for a New Year

His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians delivered a message to the faithful to greet the New Year. His message was transmitted in a special video released by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

Catholicos Karekin II began with some sober reflections on the realities attending the Armenian people at the dawn of 2023. “We greet this New Year with expectations and hopes, but also with restless hearts,” he said.

“The past year was hardly free of troubles for our people, with its added victims and losses. The security of our homeland is still challenged; our borders and peaceful settlements are still under hostile fire; our children in Artsakh continue their indomitable fight to protect their right to an independent existence…. Furthermore, the geopolitical confrontations shaking the world have also had an influence on developments unfolding in our region.”

Nevertheless, the Catholicos assured his listeners, the greatest crisis comes not from the burden of external difficulties, but from the loss of hope:

“Beloved people, the mission of every Christian is to live in hope and optimism, convinced that, as the Apostle says: ‘Hope never disappoints us’ (Rom 5:5). Nations are destroyed, and peoples disappear not from the weight of the trials they carry, but from the exhaustion of hope, the lack of a vision for the future, and the lack of a determination to bring that future to life."

He went on: “The march of our people through the centuries has been a story of faith, hope, and optimism grounded in Christ—and it will continue to be so. But let us live and act with this confidence, firmly clinging to our identity, the irreplaceable guarantees of our existence: our motherland, our language, and our faith.

“Let us drive away depression, apathy, and indifference, and unite with hope. Let us testify that this is the path to heal our wounded homeland, to protect the right of our people of Artsakh to self-determination, to secure a future for a united homeland and diaspora, and to perpetuate our nation.

"In this spirit, we embrace the Apostle’s exhortation: ‘Let us be resolute, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet’ (1 Thes 5:8-9)."

Click the following link to watch His Holiness’ video message.

The Promise of God’s Presence

In a video Christmas message for this year, Primate of the Eastern Diocese Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan reflects on the meaning of God’s presence among us in Jesus Christ—and the great promise that His presence holds for mankind.

“Being with others is such an important part of Christmas,” he writes. “But that human desire to ‘be with each other’ has an even deeper reality, that is revealed to us in the Gospels. One of the first things we learn about Jesus, even before his birth, is an ancient prophecy recalled by the evangelist Matthew: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name ‘Emmanuel,’ which means, God is with us.’

“What a beautiful, hopeful idea! God is with us: It’s an idea that sets Christianity apart from every other religion or philosophy. It means God is here beside us, experiencing the hope and disappointment, the joy and pain of human life. Through His incarnation in Jesus Christ, God has experienced the life of His creations. He has sanctified that experience. His love magnifies us—blesses each of us as a unique individual.”

How should we respond to that hopeful promise? Click the links below to learn more, by watching and reading Fr. Mesrop’s message for this Christmas, in Armenian and English

Watch in English

Watch in Armenian

Read In English and Armenian

A Dignified Future for Her Children, with Help from FAR

Lina and Seryoja live with their mother Meri in Syunik Province. Their father passed away last year after undergoing numerous surgeries to save him from the injuries he received during the “Four-Day War” of 2016. Now Meri is a single mom who struggles to make ends meet as she works at a daycare center and studies at the local university.

Ever since her two children, ages 8 and 12, were accepted to receive support from Fund for Armenian Relief’s “Children of Armenia Sponsorship Program” (CASP), Meri feels some relief from her financial burdens. CASP stipends to orphans or children of single mothers provide assistance for families to afford basics such as food, clothing, or fuel. The annual CASP stipend supplements Meri’s income, enabling her to pay her bills more easily. 

“It’s been tough for me to be a single mom, but it’s also empowering. My kids are my backbone, my motivation to live and move forward,” she said. “My only wish is to help my kids have a dignified future.” Read more on FAR’s blog.

Make a Wish program for vulnerable children affected by the war

Christmas Wishlist 2022

After last year’s overwhelming response to our Christmas Wishlist project, we decided to make it an annual tradition! Once again, we have a list of humble wishes from people (mostly kids) all over the country. We’ll roll out one wish at a time. You get to be Santa! Once you make wish 1 come true, we’ll roll out wish 2 and so on… 

Wish 6: chicken before the egg 

Tigran is in 3rd grade. He lives in Lchavan, a village on the Southeast side of Lake Sevan, close to the border with Azerbaijan. Tigran’s father is not able to work due to health problems; he has a disability due to his participation in the 2020 Artsakh war. Tigran’s older brother will also go to the army in January for his mandatory two-year military service. 

Tigran loves to eat eggs in the morning; he is currently collecting money to purchase chickens so that his family can raise hens and produce their own eggs rather than buying them. He has already collected 1400 AMD ($3.50). We want to surprise him with money for 25 chickens so that his family can produce their own eggs and have some extra to sell! 

We will also buy 25 chickens for another family in a similar situation. 

January 21 Women’s Guild General Meeting

February 11 Ararat Avak Society St. Sarkis Luncheon

February 14 Presentation of the Lord to the Temple

February 19 Great Barekendan

February 19 Annual Parish Assembly

February 22 Lenten Service, discussion & dinner @7pm

March 1,8, 15, 22 & 29 Lenten Service, discussion & dinner @7pm

March 12 Women's Guild Mid-Lenten/Mitchink Luncheon

March 15 Median Day of Lent

March 28 Women's Guild Palm Sunday Bake Sale

April 2 Palm Sunday

April 9 Easter Sunday, W.G. Easter Bake Sale after Badarak

April 24 Feast of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide

May 18 Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ

May 19,20,21 Spring Food Festival

May 28 W.G.Hampartzoom program and lunch

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son" 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:18 “voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more.”19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

(Mt 2:13-23)

¹³Եւ երբ նրանք այնտեղից գնացին, ահա Տիրոջ հրեշտակը երազի մէջ երեւաց Յովսէփին ու ասաց. «Վե՛ր կաց, վերցրո՛ւ այդ մանկանը եւ նրա մօրը ու փախի՛ր Եգիպտոս. եւ այնտեղ մնա՛ մինչեւ որ քեզ ասեմ. քանի որ Հերովդէսը փնտռում է այդ մանկանը կորստեան մատնելու համար»։ ¹⁴Եւ նա վեր կացաւ, առաւ մանկանն ու նրա մօրը, գիշերով, եւ գնաց Եգիպտոս ու այնտեղ մնաց մինչեւ Հերովդէսի մահը, ¹⁵որպէսզի կատարուի մարգարէի բերանով Տիրոջ կողմից ասուածը, թէ՝ Եգիպտոսի՛ց պիտի կանչեմ իմ Որդուն։ ¹⁶Այն ժամանակ, երբ Հերովդէսը տեսաւ, որ մոգերից խաբուեց, սաստիկ բարկացաւ եւ մարդ ուղարկեց ու կոտորեց այն բոլոր մանուկներին, որ Բեթղեհէմում եւ նրա սահմաններում էին գտնւում եւ երկու տարեկան ու դրանից ցած էին՝ ըստ այն ժամանակի, որն ստուգել էր մոգերից։ ¹⁷Այն ժամանակ կատարուեց Երեմիա մարգարէի բերանով ասուածը, թէ՝ Ռամայում մի ձայն գուժեց. ողբ ու լաց ու սաստիկ կոծ. ¹⁸Ռաքէլը լալիս էր իր զաւակների վրայ եւ չէր ուզում մխիթարուել, քանի որ նրանք այլեւս չկային։ ¹⁹Երբ Հերովդէսը վախճանուեց, ահա Տիրոջ հրեշտակը երազի մէջ երեւաց Յովսէփին Եգիպտոսում եւ ասաց. ²⁰«Վե՛ր կաց, վերցրո՛ւ այդ մանկանն ու իր մօրը եւ վերադարձի՛ր Իսրայէլի երկիրը, որովհետեւ մեռան նրանք, որ այդ մանկան մահն էին ուզում»։ ²¹Եւ Յովսէփը վեր կացաւ, առաւ մանկանն ու մօրը եւ եկաւ Իսրայէլի երկիրը։ ²²Իսկ երբ լսեց, թէ Արքեղայոսը թագաւորել է Հրէաստանի վրայ իր հօր՝ Հերովդէսի փոխարէն, վախեցաւ այնտեղ գնալ. եւ երազի մէջ հրաման առնելով՝ գնաց Գալիլիայի կողմերը ²³եւ եկաւ բնակուեց Նազարէթ կոչուող քաղաքում, որպէսզի կատարուի մարգարէների խօսքը, թէ՝ Նազովրեցի պիտի կոչուի։

(Մատթէոս 2:13-23)