Saint Mesrop Masdots and Saint Sahak Bartev Were Commemorated
On Thursday, July 2, the day of St. Translators (Tarkmanchats) was celebrated at the ceremony held at the Vortvots Vorodman Church connected to the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Patriarchate. Saint Mesrop Maşdots and Saint Sahak Bartev were commemorated.
The Divine Liturgy ceremony was conducted by the Secretary General of the Patriarchate, High Priest Tatul Anuşyan, in the leadership of the Turkish Armenian Patriarch His Beatitude Sahak II.
At the end of the ceremony, in which some Priests, Fathers, Deacons and readers from the Patriarchate were present, Spiritual Ritual was held for those who slept in the Lord, especially Saint Mesrop and Sahak.
Patriarch Sahak II, gave sermons in Armenian and Turkish for this special event.
“Every culture is shaped in its own language,” said the Patriarch, emphasizing how important Armenian is for our culture and identity. He explained that the decrease in the use of Armenian as a mother tongue abroad will lead to much more serious losses in the future. He later stated that the Bible translation contributed to the development of civilization in societies. In this context, he reminded that the Armenian community translated the Bible in the 5th century, and thus the golden age, the beginning of a new civilization for the Armenian people, began. In this context, he advised us to read the Bible in the language we understand and to learn about our own culture. He said, “Because an individual who does this will surely start to have more respect and love for their own language.”
Tarkmanchats (Saint Translators) Day:
At the beginning of the 5th century, Priest Mesrob Masdots invented the Armenian letters with the help of God. With the support of Catholicos Sahak Bartev, new letters were taught to the public as the first thing, while the Bible began to be translated into Armenian.
Since then, the Armenian Church has commemorated the catholico of the time, Sahag Bartev and Priest Mesrob Masdots, as “Saint Translators”. And the day of St. Translators was not only a religious day, but also a cultural holiday, the day when those who served the culture were remembered.
