Eve of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Celebrated at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
13.02.2026
On February 14, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church will celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Tearnndarach), commemorating the offering of the forty-day-old Infant Jesus in the Temple. The beginning of the feast was proclaimed on the evening of February 13.
On the occasion of the feast, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, entered the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin accompanied by a solemn procession of clergy. Under the presidency of His Holiness, the Evening Service was celebrated, and the Eve of the Feast was observed.
This was followed by the first Andastan service of the year, during which the four corners of the world were blessed.
Thereafter, during the hymn “Christ in Glory,” His Holiness conveyed to the faithful the life-giving light symbolizing Jesus Christ, kindled from a candle lit from the lamp of the Holy Altar of the Descent.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the ecclesiastical procession proceeded to the courtyard of the monastic complex of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, where, in the presence of numerous faithful, the bonfire of the Presentation was lit by the hand of the Archpastor of All Armenians. His Holiness also presented crosses to the faithful.
By decree of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord has been proclaimed a Day of the Blessing of Newlyweds. Accordingly, on February 14, at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin and in all churches, a rite of blessing for newly married couples will be performed.
