There is an interesting story, which says, when we light a small candle light, put it in the room, it will only illuminate around it, and when there are many candles, it becomes lighter and brighter. So is the Common Preyer that people should attend. If one person participates, it is a small light that will illuminate only those around him, and if there are many people in the church, it will be brighter. Pastor of Holy Cross Church of Nerkin Charbakh Ararat Patriarchal Diocese Priest Father Hrachya Gyozalyan said in the series of Iravaban.net interviews “The Church and the Law”.
– What is Watch, what is its meaning?
Watch is a form of Common Prayer, when the people gather in the church at the appointed hours, praying to the Lord. It is very desirable for the faithful to participate in the Watch service. Watch in all churches takes place at different times of the day, morning and evening. There are two types of prayer: individual prayer and common prayer. The individual is that the man, even if he wants to have a relationship with God at home, raises his prayer to the Lord. And the common prayer is in the designated place, which is the church. Man’s prayer is more audible when it is offered in the temple of God. In common prayer, it is desirable for the faithful people to pray to the Lord together with the priest. And the priest presents their prayers to God as a mediator.
– How many Watch services does the Armenian Apostolic Church have?
– There are nine successions in Book of Hours of the Armenian Church, which have the following names: Midnight Office, Matins, Hour of Sunrise, services of the third (9:00), sixth (12:00) and ninth (15:00) hours. The last three services are called the Lunch Clock. Then Vespers, the service of the Peaceful hour and, finally, the service of the hour of Peace follow.
– In the vernacular, “zham” (hour) also means a church, especially in the regions. Many people say, “Let’s go to the zham (church).” Does it have any relation with watch?
It has a verbal connection, as I just mentioned, there are special hours for prayer, and people gather in the church and pray. That is, during those hours, the faithful are called to participate in, for example, the Matins or the Vespers. At that time psalms and hymns are sung, prayers are said with the tip of the day.
– Father Hrach, let’s talk about Watches separately. Midnight Office. When does it happen? What is its meaning?
– All services have their titles directed to God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. The Midnight Offices were held at midnight, keeping the person mentally awake so that they meet dawn full of the strength. Midnight Office is directed to God the Father. There they ask God to give the grace to open his mouth to praise God in the morning. In our reality, we perform the midnight service in the morning, together with Matins or separately. The hymn explains the tip of the day in all services. During the Midnight Office we ask God to open our mouths to bless him.
– When does the Matins take place? What does it symbolize?
– Matins is performed in the honor of God the Son. In the Matins, we ask to be able to successfully spend that morning, enjoying God’s presence. I mentioned 9 successions, there were 9 classes of angels, and the Church priests mention the 9 classes of angels when glorifying God, so we should glorify God through the successions at 9 hours of God’s day. The Matins heralds the beginning of the day by praying again so that we may have our God-given, spirit-strengthened course, and start the day from the house of the Lord, the church.
– Let us talk about the Hour of Sunrise
– It is performed in honor of the Holy Spirit, as well as in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ and the appearance of His disciples. When the myrrh-bearing virgins came to the tomb of the Lord it was dawn and they passed the news of resurrection to people in the morning.
– What do the three services of the Lunch Clock symbolize?
– The three Lunch services were held at different times, and include the sequence of the third (ninth)-11:00, sixth or Noon (twelfth)-13:00 and ninth (fifteenth) hours which was considered to be 15:00. The first is the third service of the Lunch Clock, which is addressed to the God of the Holy Spirit, the second service is addressed to God the Father, and the next is to the God of the Son. The three services of the Lunch Clock are held together.
– What is the meaning of Vespers?
– The Vespers is directed in the person of the Son of God. During the Vespers, pre-feasts are performed, if the next day there is a Holy Feast, and a Feast of Tabernacles. Why are they held in the evening service? Because according to the church calendar, the day changes after 17:00, and we must be able to meet the next day in a festive spirit.
– When is the Peace Service held?
– Peaceful service is mainly performed during the Great Lent, as our faithful people are in a state of prayer during that time. During my ministry, I have noticed that people are more active in that period. There is an order according to the church calendar that the Peace services should be held at that time, after the Vespers services.
– Father Hrach, do all these services take place every day?
– 9 services are not held in the church now. Midnight Office, Matins, and Vespers services are performed. And additional Hour of Sunrise, Peaceful and Peace services are added during the Great Lent. 9 services were held in the monastic complexes, and today, in the city life, there will be a little difficulty for the priests in parallel with the service. I do not say that prayer is not necessary, it is important, starting and ending our day with prayer is the peace of our soul and God’s blessing to be with us always and is the connection with God.
– In conclusion, let’s talk about to what extent is the presence of a Christian obligatory at services and how true it is?
– John Chrysostom has a very interesting word, he says that just as the Lord Jesus went to Jerusalem and the first step was to go to the Father’s house, the temple of God, so it would be good for us to take our first step to the church and start our day. Thus we will have a more successful day, we will have a more preserved day. It is obligatory, as I mentioned, for every Christian to go to church, then we can say that we are Christians not only in word but also in deed and faith.
