Saint Hagop Armenian Church Father Hovnan Demerjian

Words have always played a supporting role in the Armenian Apostolic Church as compared to the post reformation churches.  Thus, my sermons are short and I work hard to make them so.  If you don’t believe me, let’s look at the data. Pew Research Center analyzed 50,000 sermons in 2020 and here is what they…
The post How to be Apostolic (in 9 minutes or less) first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church.

So what is lament?  The shortest definition of lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.  The Psalms are full of Laments. Our Ter Voghormea is a lament. Beating our breast and saying Vay Indz, Vay Indz during Confession is a Lament.  Gregory of Narek wrote an entire famous Book of Lamentations.  Lament…
The post Pain Killers first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church.

This increase in renaming original things when a new version comes out isn’t that surprising to see in our ever-changing technological society, but we might be surprised to observe the same process (albeit at a slower rate) in our understanding of God through history, the Scriptures and the church.  In fact, you could say that…
The post The Ultimate Retronym first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church.

The prologue of St. John’s Gospel, in the majestic story of God that it reveals, is every bit as breathtaking as Mount Ararat and Tampa Bay.  And if we are paying attention, we will be stunned by the mysterious beauty of the presence of God in Christ that emerges from it, such that we will…
The post The Great Surprise first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church.

A man is incomplete until he is married, and then he is finished.  A woman is incomplete until she is married, and then she is finished.  I sometimes begin marriage homilies like this to open hearts with humor and open up the profound sacrament of marriage.  The humor is in the double meaning of ‘finished.’ …
The post It is Finished first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church.

To get to the lost meaning of palms, you might go to your trophy case if you have one, or imagine one if you don’t. Think of these gold-painted golfers, or soccer balls or gymnasts.  Picture the Lombardi trophy (a golden football) or the Stanley Cup (a silver wedding cake?).  2000 years from now people…
The post Trophy Life first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church.