On the occasion of Saint Vardanants Day, Father Hetum Tarverdyan served today a Divine Liturgy at the Holy Archangels Mother Church of the Romanian-Armenian Diocese, after which Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Romania, Bishop Tatev Hakobyan solemnly performed the Patriarchal Wish. In his sermon, His Holiness Tatev mentioned that the  Vardanants warriors and the 1,036 martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the homeland, Armenian Church and the preservation of the Christian faith in the Battle of Avarayr (451 A.D.) are among the greatest saints of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church. They sacrificed their lives and affirmed the will of the Armenian people to live and the people’s right to exist.

The Armenian Church has been closely linked to the defense of the homeland since the adoption of Christianity in Armenia.

Brilliant evidence of that is the Vardanants War when the Armenian Church led by Catholicos Hovsep and Ghevond Yerets stood by the Armenian fighters’ side in the war against the Persian forces.

Before the war, Armenian clergymen not only encouraged the forces with the example of Makabays, but also strengthened the fighters’ belief and spirit with baptism and the Divine Liturgy.

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