Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of St. Mesrob Church
The 36th Annual Diocesan Assembly of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church Canadian Diocese took place in the Nation’s Capital between May 24th – 26th, 2019.
The Assembly, hosted by St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church of Ottawa offered a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the history of the Diocese, to celebrate its accomplishments and to set goals for the future.
The weekend’s gathering was particularly special, in that, it also marked the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Parish of St. Mesrob Armenian Church of Ottawa.
A special Dinner Banquet was held on May 25, at the Hellenic Reception Hall in celebration of the special milestone. Lilit Gasparyan, one of Parish’s gifted young women enriched the venue with an exhibit of her own collection of oil paintings in honour of this occasion.
The evening’s program consisted of various cultural and artistic components that were brought forth by the Parish faithful and the members of the Ottahye Community.
St. Mesrob Armenian Church Choir launched the evening’s program with two performances, “Amen Hayi Srdits”, and “Sourp Sourp” by Gomidas Vartabed.
Subsequently, the Parish Youth followed in a display of colourful folk costumes, where each youth represented a fundamental element known to the Home Blessing Ceremony. His Grace Bishop Abgar Hovakimyan, and St Mesrob Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Hayari Gabriel Tanashian proceeded blessing the essential elements.
1. Bread, the Word of God, grants life to all those who taste it.
2. Salt, seasons our food, making it delicious and edible. Salt also represents man in this world with his words and deeds.
3. Water, the essential element of life, represents cleanliness. Through the water of baptism, we are cleansed renewed in Christ, united with God.
4. With our event, being festive in nature, we had asked also for the blessing of the wine, symbolizing the blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the fruits, representing the bounties of the harvest that God has bestowed on humanity.
Furthermore, David Pakyuz, a beloved member of our Parish and Shoushanik Melkonian, a renowned Montreal artist set the tone for the evening with a combination of violin pieces, and a recreation of Armenian poems. Last but not least, Noraik, Ottawa’s new and upcoming Armenian Dance Ensemble under the direction of Anna Bedrossian went on to capture the hearts of all the attendees with a special dance called “Barmani”. A dance that was learned and performed for the first time that evening.
