The Sunday Christmas services at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Armenia attended by Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and other top government officials was led by His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, who urged the followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church and all believers in Armenia, Karabakh and across Armenian communities all over the globe to continue to live “with the same spirit in order to overcome the challenges facing us, to defend the values of freedom, justice, law, honesty and philanthropy” – the values with which, he said, “the God-loving spirit of our people must continue to be taken care of, with which our life in the homeland and in the Diaspora must be strengthened.”
The spiritual leader told worshippers “always to act in loving unity and combined will.”
“On this joyous day of Holy Nativity and Epiphany, dear devout Armenian people, we express our satisfaction to the Lord who had extended his gift of salvation also to our people,” Catholicos Karekin II, in particular, said.
The Patriarchal Christmas liturgy was followed by a ritual Blessing of the Water conducted by priests to symbolize the baptism of Jesus Christ in the river Jordan.
The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6, the date originally used by all Christians. In the fourth century, however, Christians in the Roman Empire began celebrating on December 25 to override a pagan winter solstice festival on the same day.
Armenia adopted Christianity as a state religion in 301, thus becoming the first Christian nation.
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