Spiritual Discussions
Christian faith according to the Bible and teaching of the Church Fathers. How to fulfil the divine commandments and fight against sin? The Holy Bible and the Sacred Tradition of the Church. How the Church responds to the fundamental questions of human live and how to live according to the faith in the modern world? Faith as a worldview, way of knowing and culture. How to raise children? Spiritual principles of learning and self-knowledge.
New Year's Day
Celebration of New Year's Day in ecclesiastical and secular calendars. Significance of the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The Nativity Fast and the heat of New Year's Day celebrations. The message of the Nativity Eve to go toward the Lord and be renewed inwardly. The spiritual joy caused by the Holy Nativity. Contemplation about the management of the time given to us.
- Speaker: Fr. David Gishyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
St. Stephen the Protomartyr
The first Christian public martyrdom in the Acts of the Apostles. Diaconate in the early Church. Famous deacons in the Universal Church. Diaconate as one of the main orders of the Church hierarchy; its rights given by ordination. Changes in the perception of diaconate in the Church over the course of centuries.
- Speaker: Fr. David Gishyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
The Body as God’s Temple
“Don't you know that you are God's temple and the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16). Handmade temples and human hearts as the Lord’s dwelling places. Defilement of a bodily temple forsaken by God. Uncontainable God’s containment in a human being: “And the Word became flesh” (John 1:14); ”... so that Christ may dwell in your hearts” (Eph. 3:17).
- Speaker: Fr. Ashot Safaryan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
St. Mary’s Conception by Anna
The time and reason for the establishment of this feast. Testimonies about the Holy Mother of God from non-biblical sources of the Sacred Tradition. The salvation mission of the Lord’s Mother and the didactic significance of the image of the New Eve in spiritual life. Theological perceptions about the person of the Mother of God in the universal Church. The message of the “Mother Divinity: From Anahit to Mariam” exhibition.
- Speaker: Fr. David Gishyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Enlighteners of the Armenian People
What is a nation’s enlightenment? The first enlighteners of the Armenian people, Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, and the historical testimonies about their preaching in Armenia. The history of the Armenian king Abgar, the first king that believed in Christ. The causes of two apostles’ preaching in Armenia. Patriarch St. Gregory, the second enlightener of Armenia. The enlighteners of the Armenian nation in the Armenian Golden Age and in later centuries. The perpetual course of spreading the light of faith; modern-day enlighteners.
- Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Number Symbolism
The sacred or unique significance of numbers in philosophical and religious systems. The idea of the absolute and indivisible union. Simple or perfect numbers (1, 3, 7) and their multiples in Christian perception. The principle of the triune monotheism. Symbolism of the numbers 40 and 50. Relationship of time and numerical calculation. Spiritual and materialistic perceptions of numbers.
- Speaker: Fr. David Gishyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Anger
Christ’s strict judgment of the sin of anger, and its interpretation in St. Paul’s epistles. Anger as a blurring of sound reasoning. The cause of anger: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?” (Jam. 4:1). “A soft word turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov. 15:1). “In your anger do not sin: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Eph. 4:26).
- Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Alienation from God
What alienates individuals and peoples from the Lord? The consequences of the alienation from God in the example of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Peter’s denial of Jesus and his restoration in apostolic ministry. “The Lord will never leave you nor forsake you, do not fear” (Deut. 31:8). Steps taken toward God. “Come close to God, and God will come close to you” (Jam. 4:8). Nothing is able to separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-39).
- Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
The Lord’s Covenant with Humanity
The Old and New Testaments as the Lord’s arks of covenant. The partners making the covenant and the God-human relationship. The covenants made with the Jews and their patriarchs in the Old Testament. The unfaithfulness of the people of Israel to their vows to God: “Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God” (Ps. 75:12). Christ’s new covenant with humanity, and the mystery of the Holy Mass. The Lord’s covenant with the Armenian people.
- Speaker: Fr. David Gishyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
The Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin
Etchmiadzin in the minds of the Armenian people. The Altar of Descent in the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, and the vision of St. Gregory the Illuminator. Pan-Armenian pilgrimages to Holy Etchmiadzin. The Mother See’s relocations throughout centuries and reestablishment in Vagharshapat. “Let’s build the holy altar of light.” The reconsecration of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral as an occasion for renewal of the Armenian people’s covenant with God.
- Speaker: Armen Hareyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
The Revelation of St. John: Messages to the Church
The Apostle John’s pastoral message to the seven church communities in Asia Minor. The teaching of Chiliasm or Millenialism in the early Church, and the modern-day anticipation of the Lord’s coming. Warning against apostasy and heresies. “You have abandoned your first love” (Rev. 2:4). Spiritual lukewarmness is hated by the Lord. The commandment to persevere in the faith, hope, and love of God. The spiritual death as a “second death” (Rev. 2:11).
- Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
The Christian Healing of Psychological Trauma
Types of psychological trauma and their common features. The process of healing of a psychological trauma and the consecutive steps in it. The national trauma in the consciousness of Jews and Armenians and the attempts to overcome it. A description of the traumatic state of a human that has lost everything, and of the overcoming of that state, in the example of Job. Analysis of the traumatic consequences of sexual violence: Amnon and Tamar, Dinah, Shushanik.
- Speaker: Marianna Apresyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Significance of the Holy Myron
Biblical and early Christian origins of Myron. The Myron theology of St. Dionysius the Areopagite. The Holy Myron as a symbol of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. The Blessing of the Holy Myron in the Armenian Church and the sacred objects validating the blessing. The Holy Myron and the Church sacraments. The Blessing of the Holy Myron; Seal of Identity.
- Speaker: Fr. David Gishyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Psalter
The Book of Psalms and its place in the biblical canon. The character of the king David. Reading the psalms and psalmody. Human emotions expressed in the psalms. The educational meaning of the psalms. The state of prayer and reading the psalms.
- Speaker: Fr. David Gishyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Sloth
Sloth as a mortal sin. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (Gen. 2:15). The instructions of the biblical Books of Wisdom and people's wisdom for the lazy. John Chrysostom: "Is it worth arriving at Hell because of laziness?" "Make the most of your time" (Eph. 5:16). The Parable of the Ten Pounds.
- Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The return of the Lord's Cross from captivity to Jerusalem. A Christian's victory through the Cross. Glorification of the Lord's Cross during ritual processions and andastans. Feasts of the Holy Cross as feasts of revelation of the Cross. Personal relations of a Christian with the Crucified One and with the redeeming Cross. True cross-bearing; the necessity of bearing the Cross in one's soul.
- Speaker: Fr. Nshan Alaverdyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
The Divine Commandment of Learning
The Church and the enlightenment. Repetitive instructions in the biblical Books of Wisdom. School, reader, and literature. The shattered respect toward teachers and vardapets in modern times. "Learn from Me" (Mt. 11:29). Teaching through parables. "All evil things enter human mind because of lack of education." The motto of the Holy Translators.
- Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Envy
“Cain, where is your brother Abel?” (Gen. 4:9). Envy as a mortal sin and a root of other sins. Means to overcome the emerging envy: “Sin desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). Envy as a fight and protest against God’s will. The image of the jealous God and the true zeal. The power that annihilates envy: “Love does not envy” (1 Cor. 13:4).
- Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Modern Theological Education in Armenia
The practical application and professional prospects of theological education in Armenia. The attractiveness of theology for university applicants, and its relation to philosophy, psychology and art history. The relationship of Christian faith and theology. The Church as the driving force of theology and as its natural environment.
- Speakers: Alyona Anakhasyan, Asya Ghazaryan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan
Suicide
Suicide: a sin against oneself, natural order, and God. Perception of suicide as sin and combination of despair and homicide in the teaching of the Church. Cases of unconsciously committed suicide. Pastoral care for the souls of suicides and their relatives. Specific cases of euthanasia. Spiritual mechanisms of suicide prevention: brotherly support and spiritual consultation.
- Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
- Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan