The Kalfayan (Orphange) School met at the sacred offering ceremony held in the Patriarchate Church of Kumkapı, and His Holiness Patriarch Sahak ll honoured Diana Kamparosyan, the head of the school foundation, with the Patriarch’s Medal. “Medal of Patriarch Hovannes Golod”
The Holy Offering ritual at the Kumkapı Patriarchate Surp Asdvaszsdzin Church and the traditionally held annual love table meeting of Kalfayan (Orphanage) School was both held on Sunday, November 22, within the frame of rituals due to the coronavirus epidemic.
At the ritual Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, His Holiness Sahak II preside, Priest Harutyun Damadyan performed the Holy Presentation, in addition to Sister Kayane Dulkadiryan, the deacon and mugannis of the church served the Lord’s table.
The members of the Sahakyan Choir, led by Sevan Agoşyan, performed the hymns, Priest Şınork Donikyan who is the chaplain of the church, and Father Şirvan Mürzyan were also present at the ceremony. Patriarch Sahak II preached in Armenian and Turkish. He started his preaching in Armenian by commemorating the Malatya-born Archbishop Sebuh Çulcuyan, the Spiritual leader of Armenia’s Gugark region, who recently passed away due to Covid-19. Stating that Archbishop Sebuh had a special love and respect for the Armenian Community of Istanbul because he was born in Malatya, he said that his death due to the coronavirus caused sadness to the Istanbul Armenian Community.
After the preaching in Armenian, the Chairman of the Board of the Kalfayan Orphanage Foundation invited Diana Kamparosyan, one of the well-known and respected names of the Armenian community, to the altar and presented her the gold medal of “Patriarch Hovannes Golod” for the services she has given to her society up to now. Later, in his Turkish sermon, he briefly said: “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.’”
In todays Bible passage, the Lord Jesus Christ sees the concern in their eyes when he looks at those who came to listen to him. The concern of tomorrow…
There are news that wrenches all of our hearts during the days of pandemic. The uncertainty about the end of the pandemic arouses concern in our hearts. The Lord Jesus Christ says that concern won’t fix things. Because we don’t trust God. We don’t trust that he will protect and watch over us. We don’ live in a safe world. do not worry about tomorrow, each day has enough trouble of its own. Let’s worry about today’s troubles. If we live right today, we will be preparing for tomorrow. Worrying while preparing for the future, especially turning it into a psychological problem, will not provide any gain. Let’s not create earthquakes in our souls. May our soul be filled with confidence. There is another trust that comes from within. Self-confidence is confidence that comes from within. The driving force must come from within. The name of this force is faith. We need it. We do our best and trust in God. But for the accounts that exceed us, we cannot do anything. All we have to think about is our relationship with the Creator. That’s all we need to worry about and reflect on. Have we fulfilled what He said? Have we learned the lessons of love in this world? These questions should be a matter of concern to us. After doing this the rest will come. Everything is temporary. There is nothing permanent, we need to turn what we have into good. Good deeds must continue in the world. Everyone needs goodness. Goodness is not just something to be taken. It is also something to be given. Our Lord Jesus Christ says: ‘There is more happiness in giving than in receiving’. We invite our people to be happy by giving. Every precious person lights up the goodness in us. Every valuable work done encourages us to the same path. At the end of the ritual, Hokehankist (Spiritual ritual) prayers were said the fort of the archbishop Sebuh Çulcuyan, the founder of the Kalfayan orphange, Sister Sırpuhi Kalfayan, its former administrators and all those who aren’t wide awake in the Lord. This year’s celebrations were limited to spritual ceremonies due to the coronavirus epidemic.
