One of the goals of the Youth Department of the Armenian Diocese of Georgia is to celebrate the holidays of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church and reinforce faith through pilgrimages, writes armenianchurch.ge.

On April 1, 2017, on the occasion of the day of remembrance of the Entry of Saint Gregory the Illuminator into the Dungeon, the Youth Department of the Armenian Diocese of Georgia organized a pilgrimage to the ancient St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in Akhaltsikhe. The pilgrimage was made possible upon the proposal and with the support of Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Georgia, His Grace, Fr. Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan.

Early in the morning, the more than a dozen young people gathered at the Youth Department of the Diocese and headed towards Akhaltsikhe. They were led by the section’s spiritual superintendent, Deacon Gevorg Antonyan and Head of the Youth Department Valery Badalyan and escorted by youth programs coordinator Nina Seropova and Head of the Diocese’s Educational Department Yevgenya Markosyan.

The pilgrims participated in the Divine and eternal Liturgy served by pastor of the Armenians of Akhaltsikhe, Rev. Fr. Friar Hakob Sahakyan at the local Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church. The attendees listened to the celebrant, His Holiness as he delivered a sermon devoted to the symbol of the day, that is, the indescribable tortures that the First Armenian Patriarch had undergone in the Deep Dungeon for 13 years. Greeting the pilgrims from Tbilisi, His Holiness Hakob urged them to resist temptations of our times, have the willpower and resistance of the First Armenian Patriarch and live with kindness and devotion to their faith.

The pilgrims lit candles in memory of St. Gregory the Illuminator and asked for the intercession of the all-Christian saint in their prayers.

The young Armenians of Tbilisi, under the leadership of the spiritual superintendent of Akhaltsikhe and pastor of the villages near Akhaltsikhe, Fr. Priest Torgom Vardanyan, continued their pilgrimage to the dilapidated St. Stepanos Church and the St. Nshan Church in Akhaltsikhe. After lighting candles, they said prayers with the clergymen.

The young people also visited the Rabat Complex in Akhaltsikhe and went sightseeing.

In the evening, the pilgrims returned to Tbilisi feeling spiritually enriched with the grace of Saint Gregory the Illuminator.