“If the Lord is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). The victory of the Lord’s resurrection over the world, hell, and death. The tri-holiday of cross-bearing May victories: “You shall win with the help of the cross.” “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). The divine grace transforming weakness to victory (2 Cor. 12:9). “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).

• Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

The continuation of the Christian path after the Lord’s resurrection. The colorful chain of the seven post-Easter Sundays. The joy brought by the Heavenly Bridegroom and the 40-day presence of the resurrected Christ in our lives. The New Testament readings of the Pentecosterion: a season of spiritual learning. “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and clothe yourselves with the new self” (Eph. 4:23-24).

• Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Palm Sunday as a connecting link between the forty-day Lent and the Great (Pascha) Week. Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. “Take courage; I have conquered the world” (John 16:33). How do we come to meet the Lord and are we ready to receive Him into our souls? The Door Opening Ceremony and the symbolic return to the Paradise. The full joy of Palm Sunday before the troubling experiences of the Great Week. The colorful festivities of Palm Sunday and the youth’s participation in them.

• Speakers: Maria Grigoryan, Elen Tsaturyan, Victoria Margaryan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

The person, activity and canonization of this eminent vardapet of the Armenian Church. The golden chain of the rabunapets (head of vardapets) of medieval Armenian monastic centers and universities from Mkhitar Gosh to St. Gregory of Tathev. The revival of the national education system in harsh geopolitical conditions. John of Orotni as an apologist of orthodoxy. Vorotnavank in the past and in the present.

• Speaker: Fr. David Gishyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Descriptions of true fasting in the Gospel. Benefits of fasting for both soul and body; the fast of Daniel. The fast rejected by the Lord (Is. 58:3-14). Biblical examples of national fasts and repentance (2 Ezr. 8:21-23, Joel 2:12-17, Neh: 1:4-11). The commandment to not judge one another for fasting-related matters (Rom. 14, 1 Cor.  10:25-33).

• Speaker: Fr. David Gishyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Difference between the Lord-established justice and human justice. The justice of the Mosaic Law as newly interpreted in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’” (Mt. 5:38). Restoration of justice by the Lord: “Vengeance is Mine, and I shall recompense” (Deut. 32:35). “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Mt. 5:6).

• Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Causes of Cain’s hatred toward his brother. “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18). Phenomena hated by the Lord. Hate sins, not humans. Love and humility as virtues that drive hatred away. “Those who do not love their brother whom they can see, cannot love God whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20).

• Speaker: Fr. Husik Dokholyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

Causes of spiritual stumbling. “Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away” (Mt. 18:7-8). External and internal sources of stumbling. The Lord's temptation in the desert and his rejection of stumbling blocks. Spiritual means to fight against stumbling blocks.

• Speaker: Armen Hareyan
• Host: Deacon Vardan Aslanyan

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

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

“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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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 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

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