Years later, Vartavar (Baydzaragerbutyun – Aylagerbutyun – Transfiguration) Feast was celebrated in Diyarbakır Surp Giragos Church.
On Sunday, July 16, VARTAVAR – BAYDZARAGERBUTYUN – AYLAGERBUTYUN, one of the 5 great Feasts of the Armenian Church, (Lord Jesus Christ’s Transfiguration on Mount Tapor, Feast of Glory) was celebrated years later in Diyarbakır Surp Giragos Church.
Surp Badarak (Holy Mass) was performed by Patriarchate Anatolian Religious Supervisor Father Avedis Tabaşyan. Senior readers Ğazar Sabuncu, Yusuf Tabaş, and readers served the Lord’s Table.
Father Avedis preached a sermon explaining the importance of the feast, in the presence of Ergün Ayık, the chairman of the board of directors of the Diyarbakır Church, Volkan Arat, famous musicians Bedri Ayseli, Udi Yervant and community members in Diyarbakır.
In the speech of the Patriarch of Türkiye’s Armenians, Sahak II, conveying his prayers of love and blessings, he said, “the appearance of the “Lord Jesus Christ changed on Mount Tapor and it was announced that HE IS BOTH MAN AND GOD. then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5) With the same faith, let us give Glory to the Lord today so that He may make us like Him and change us, take away all our worries and anxieties, and renew each of us with His Power and Holy Spirit, and fill us with His Blessings and Peace.” Bu saying these words, he emphasized that the humanity will change as they share the Word of the Lord and the love He puts in their heart. Stating that it is a tradition from the past for Armenians to wet each other with water in Vartavar, he ended his sermon with the hope that the joy and happiness we experience while wetting each other will always be present in our lives.
After the ritual, Antasdan prayers were read in the church, and Father Avedis, who blessed the believers who attended the service with rose water, shared the joy of the children getting wet in the pool in the historical church garden.
Later, Hokehankisd (Requiem) prayers were read for those who sleep in the Lord at the Diyarbakır Armenian Cemetery. Here, too, Father Avedis was accompanied by Senior readers Gazar Sabuncu and Yusuf Tabaş.
