What does it mean to be a God’s chosen people? God’s infinite love towards His people and fidelity to His covenant. The periodic apostasy of people and their return to the Creator. The presence of God with His people in times of need. The path of the cross of God’s people and the question of theodicy.

• Speaker: Fr. Mesrop Aramian
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16): forbidding lying and its forms. How the lie entered the world: sweet lie, white lie, plausible lie. “The truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:32). “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body” (Jas. 3:2). “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mt. 12:37).

• Speaker: Fr. Grigor Hovhannisyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Pride as a deadly sin and its derivative sins. The reasons why pride is coming out. Is there a safe portion of pride? “He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed” (Prov. 3:34). Love as a remedy for pride. “Learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” (Mt. 11:29).

• Speaker: Fr. Grigor Hovhannisyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

The formation of the hagiographic genre. Vita and martyrology. The repetitive narratives and characters in martyrologies. The hagiographic collections of the Armenian Church. Armenian martyrs of later periods. The influence of the hagiography on our spiritual life and worldview. Koryun’s Life of Mashtots.

• Speaker: Marianna Apresyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Good Creator, good creation, so where does evil come from? The levels between good and evil, is there an absolute evil? The definitions of evil and sin. Evil as a result of the wrong use of free will and of acting against one’s own nature. Why God tolerates evil. Will evil be wiped out from the world?

• Speaker: Fr. Grigor Hovhannisyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

The theses of the essay “Why I Am Not a Christian” by Bertrand Russell. Rejecting eternal life and the proofs of the existence of God. Defining the term “Christian.” Criticism of dogmas. Religion as foundation of morality. Identifying the errors of fanaticism. Is religion based on fear? Why we are Christians.

• Speaker: Fr. Mesrop Aramian
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

The establishment of the Mystery of Communion: the Last Supper and offering. The transfiguration of bread and wine into the Lord’s Body and Blood. The frequency of receiving the Holy Communion. Spiritual and physical preparation. Communion as a spiritual sustenance and a powerful protection. The joint communion of the community as a central mystery of the Divine Liturgy: common and personal confession of sins.  

• Speaker: Fr. Grigor Hovhannisyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

The Christian view of wealth. Teachings of Jesus about the usage of money. Captivity of Mammon. The material aspect of any worldly and spiritual endeavor. Material equality. Charity and search for heavenly treasures. 

• Speaker: Fr. Arnak Harutyunyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Leadership models and the peculiarities of Christian leadership. The example of Christ. Apostolic instructions to leaders and to parish members. How we want to see our religious leaders. Participation of lay people in the Church administration. God’s gift of leadership.

• Speaker: Almast Muradyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

God’s blessing of the marriage: Adam and Eve, the wedding at Cana. Love is the foundation of marriage. The indivisibility of the spiritual marriage. Apostolic commands to couples. The crisis of the patriarchal family model in modern society. The dangers threatening marriage: divorce. Spiritual preparation for the Sacrament of Marriage.

• Speaker: Fr. Grigor Hovhannisyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

“And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.” (Mt. 6:13). Forgiveness, atonement, repentance. How many times shall I forgive my brother? Conciliation instead of revenge and enmity. The capacity to forgive as a spiritual accomplishment.

• Speaker: Fr. Arnak Harutyunyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

The activities of the World Youth Union of the Armenian Church. Bible messages for youth. Conditions for the active involvement of youth in the Church. “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.” (1 John 2:14).

• Speaker: Araks Poghosyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Spiritual discussion and consulting. The power of spiritual words and of Christian sermon. The topic of spiritual conversation and its didactic importance. Creation of trust between interlocutors and the key to people’s souls.

• Speaker: Fr. Grigor Hovhannisyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). The spiritual joy of Christians against the stereotypes about the mourning character of faith. “Serve the Lord with gladness” (Ps. 99:2). Thankfulness and the hope of salvation as sources of joy. God comforts the mourners.  

• Speaker: Fr. Mesrop Aramian
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Pagan and Christian traditions of baptizing with water. The establishment of the Mystery of Baptism by the Lord Jesus. Divine adoption and Church membership. The phase of spiritual preparation before the Baptism. Infant and adolescent baptism. The mission of the godfather.   

• Speaker: Fr. Markos Mangasaryan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Feasts of the Holy Cross in the Armenian Church. The cross in Armenian culture. We worship not the cross, but the Crucified. Why the instrument of death was chosen as the main symbol of Christianity. “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” (Lk. 14:27). The theology of the cross. The enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil. 3:18).

• Speaker: Fr. Mesrop Aramian
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Universal Church. The universe and nature as a temple. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1). Preaching God through nature. The human as a part of creation and as its crown; return to the nature. Symbolism of mountain in the Bible (Noah, Moses, Jesus) and in mystical theology.

• Speaker: Fr. Mesrop Aramian
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

The Church founded by the Blood of our Savior. Tertullian: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Red color as a symbol of the struggle for freedom, truth, values, and faith. Persecutions against Christians throughout history and nowadays. Sacrifice required from Christians. The mystery of the Holy Communion.

• Speaker: Fr. Smbat Sargsyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Easter as a liberation from sin. Rising with Christ; the necessity of renewal through the mystery of Resurrection. Feasts as opportunities for the renewal of humans. Examples of conversion in the New Testament and literature; the novel “Resurrection” by Leo Tolstoy. “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man” (Ephes. 4:23-24). God Himself renews us by His will: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5).

• Speaker: Fr. Mesrop Aramian
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

What or whom should we believe in? Building one’s faith on the reliable foundation. Darkness and frustration surrounding the unbeliever. When your faith is shaken. Faith as a source of spiritual and physical healing. Faith as an invincible strength of the Christians.

• Speaker: Fr. Mesrop Aramian
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan