Relics of St. John the Forerunner and St. Athenogenes the Bishop Brought to the Shoghakat Monastery
04.06.2026
On June 4, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church celebrated the Feast of Saint John the Forerunner and Saint Bishop Athenogenes, which is also the annual pilgrimage day to the Monastery of Saint Shoghakat in Vagharshapat.
In the morning, the reliquary cross containing the relics of Saint John the Baptist and Bishop Athenogenes was solemnly conveyed from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to the Monastery of Saint Shoghakat as part of the clergy's ceremonial procession.
The procession was led as far as the Arch of Saint Gregory the Illuminator by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, who blessed the faithful with the cross-reliquary containing the holy relics. Thereafter, His Holiness entrusted the sacred reliquary to His Grace Bishop Anania Tsaturyan, Sacristan of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
On the occasion of the feast, the Holy and Immortal Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the monastery. The celebrant was the Reverend Father Hieromonk Aris Tonoyan, Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Shoghakat.
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, in the courtyard of the Monastery of Saint Shoghakat and under the presidency of His Grace Bishop Zakaria Baghumyan, Director of the Preaching Center of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Rite of Andastan (Blessing of the Four Corners of the World) was performed with the reliquary cross containing the relics of Saint John the Baptist and Bishop Athenogenes.
