Armenian Christians Celebrate Eucharist With Ornate and Ancient Ritual

Geoffrey Orens

February 2, 2004

A marriage of visual splendor, soaring choral harmonies and thick incense, the celebration of the Eucharist, or communion, in the Armenian Church is considered to be the most important portion of their weekly two-hour Sunday service.

At St. Vartan's Armenian Cathedral on Second Ave. and 34th Street, this sensual ceremony takes place in a large half-block long church, where long, thin stained-glass windows stretch from the floor to the ceiling. The inside of the cathedral's dome is inscribed in ornate calligraphy, the words in classical Armenian and English The altar area rises several feet above the pews, while the stair altar itself is forbidden to all but the officiating priest.

During the first hour of the service only 16 congregants dotted the cathedral's wooden pews. Almost on cue, as the Eucharist liturgy began, the church was flooded with people. By the service's end, 50 people were in attendance.

Draped in a gold cape and wearing a gold crown, the officiating priest resembles a king. He, and all celebrants, wear robes based on the biblical description in Exodus 28. In that passage, the high priest Aaron, Moses' brother-in-law, is instructed to wear a breast piece, an apron-like garment, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash that are to be woven in gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn.

"They have evolved since then and taken on aspects of even civil uniforms," St. Vartan's dean and officiating priest father Mardiros Chevian said, referring to the more modern crown and robes priests currently wear.

During the Eucharist liturgy, Chevian removed his crown and ornate slippers, following God's biblical command to Moses in Exodus: "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."

The altar that rises above the priest holds rows of candles that lead up to a painting of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus. Above the altar rises a massive four-columned marble cupola topped by an octagonal roof, which symbolizes eternity. With candles and several massive chandeliers creating shadows, the cupola's shadows project twice against the curved wall behind it, lending the illusion of a courtyard.

The most important service ritual is known as the Epiclesis, when the priest calls upon the Holy Spirit to enter into the bread and wine given for communion, which congregants believe changes literally into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The priest evoked the Holy Spirit three times for both the bread and the wine, while the deacon provided a steady stream of incense.

"This is not just the work of the priest and the congregation, but an act of the Holy Spirit," said Father Chevian.

Although the "Liturgy of the Eucharist" begins halfway through the service, it was prefaced much earlier in the service by a brief blessing over the communion bread and wine.

During this blessing, the deacon pulls a long white curtain across the altar area, shielding the celebrants from view. Chevian chanted a prayer of the ninth-century Armenian Saint Gregroy of Narek to the Holy Spirit: "Prepare us to be honored dwellings, always ready to partake worthily of the heavenly Lamb, to receive ... this manna of life eternal."

As a deacon offered incense, Chevian proclaimed in Aramaic the biblical words the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary when he announced that she would give birth to Jesus: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."

For an hour, the priest and deacons offered the "Liturgy of the Word," which include readings delivered from both the Old and New Testaments as well as the Gospel reading. Then, the "Liturgy of the Eucharist" began.

The Eucharist is considered so important in the Armenian Church that the deacons open the "Liturgy of the Eucharist" with the chant: "Let none of the catechumens, none of little faith and none of the penitents of the unclean draw near to this divine mystery."

A deacon processed around the altar with the veiled chalice above his head. The other deacons shook long poles topped with silver fans (kshotz) about eight inches in diameter. Each fan is engraved with the finger of a six-winged cherubim in relief and is laden with 12 bells, producing a rattling sound. Chevian said the fans traced their history back to the days of the early Christian church when fans were used to keep insects away from the Eucharistic feast. In the Armenian Church the fans are shaken at several parts of the service and represent the presence of angels driving away evil spirits.

While the priests and deacons chanted, the choir, consisting of eight women and two men, sung hymns and psalms in airy and Eastern sounding Armenian scales. Often in the liturgy the priest and deacons will engage in a lengthy repartee with the choir.

Early in the "Liturgy of the Eucharist," communicants offer the kiss of peace, one of the most important parts of the service. In Western churches, communicants share the peace with a handshake and the word "peace." In the Armenian Church, parishioners give a double kiss, often in the air between men, one on the right then on the left. The person offering the greeting says, "Christ is revealed among us." The one receiving the greeting responds, "Blessed is the revelation of Christ."

Through celebrating the Eucharist and receiving communion, Armenian Christians rededicate themselves to the Christian life and the church. Church doctrine encourages communicants to fast in the morning and to spend part of the early day in prayer. Because of this belief, many decide not to take communion every week as they believe the need for spiritual preparation makes it impossible to take it frequently. On this Sunday only ten people took communion.

After all who wished to receive communion had partaken, Chevian raised the chalice to imprint the sign of the Cross over all communicants, chanting words from Psalm 28:9, "Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance; shepherd them and lift them up from henceforth until eternity."

(Updated April 24, 2004)