Western Diocese

On February 13 and 14, the Armenian Apostolic Church will celebrate the Feast Days of St. Ghevont the Priest and His Companions and the Presentation of our Lord to the Temple (Dyuarnuntarach), respectively.

Feast Day of St. Ghevont the Priest and His Companions

According to the Armenian Church calendar, the Feast Day of St. Ghevont the Priest and His Companion Martyrs will be celebrated on February 13, 2012. Their martyrdom is intricately connected to the Battle of Avarayr in 451 A.D. led by St. Vartan the Warrior. The group of martyrs known as St. Leon and His Companions consists of 9 martyrs and includes, in addition to Leon the Priest, Catholicos Hovsep, Bishop Sahak Rushdooni, Bishop Tatik of Basen, priests Moushegh, Arshen and Samuel, and deacons Abraham and Kajaj. Because of his seniority of age and his fearless leadership and unwavering witness to his faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and His Gospel, the group is known on the Armenian Church calendar as St. Leon and His Companions. Their feast day falls on the Tuesday preceding Boon Baregendan, the eve of Lent, and two days preceding the Feast of St. Vartan the Warrior and His Companions.

During the persecutions of Armenians under King Yazgert II of Persia and the events that preceded the Battle of Avarayr, St. Leon and his fellow priests were with the army encouraging the soldiers not to weaken in their faith and not be afraid to sacrifice their life for Christ. After the martyrdom of St. Vartan and his companions, St. Leon and his fellow martyrs were taken to Persia and inflicted much suffering. According to their martyrology, their unshakable refusal to deny Christ so impressed the Persian pagan chief priest that he converted to the Christian faith and himself was martyred later. The first in the group led to martyrdom by sword was priest St. Arshen of the village of Bagrevand. The Persian regional governor, who was directing the tortures, was so angered by his failure to prevail upon the saints to abandon their Christian faith, that he severed the arm of St. Sahak, bishop of the House of Rushdoonis. Catholicos St. Hovsep was beheaded immediately thereafter, followed by the martyrdom of the rest of the group. Finally, St. Leon, the leader and spokesman of the group, was dragged on a rocky hillside until his bones were exposed and then beheaded.

Many miracles are ascribed to the relics of the saints, and witnesses told about an eagle of light descending upon the body of St. Leon.  A young believer collected the relics and of saints and buried them in 454 A.D.

The Feast Day of the Presentation of our Lord to the Temple (Dyarnuntarach)

In the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Feast Day of the Presentation of our Lord to the Temple is known as “Dyarnuntarach” (bringing forward of the Lord).

In the Gospel according to St. Luke (2:22-35), Mary and Joseph took the infant Christ to the Temple in Jerusalem. He was received in the arms of the elder Simeon, who then prayed, "Now let Thy servant depart in peace... for I have seen Thy salvation." This was one of the things that Mary "pondered in her heart"—the fact that others recognized that her Son was the Messiah.

Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people (those who could not afford a lamb) (Leviticus 12:8), sacrificing "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Leviticus 12:1-4 indicates that this event should take place forty days after birth for a male child, hence the Presentation is celebrated forty days after Christmas.

The fire of Dyarnuntarach recalls the light of Christ which Christians receive at their baptism. John the Baptist said that Jesus would come to baptize mankind "with the Holy Spirit and with fire" [Matthew 3:11], a reference to Pentecost.

Click here for the planned events at St. Leon Armenian Cathedral.