A Pilgrimage Week at St. Mary Monastery under the blessing of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I

On the occasion of the Pilgrimage Day of St. Mary Monastery, the Christian Education Department of the Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia, with the blessing of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and under the directorship of V. Rev. Fr. Stepanos Pashayan, organized a Pilgrimage Week leading up to the celebration. During this period, Divine Liturgies, special services, prayers, and Bible studies were conducted in the monastery’s chapel. This year, from August 10 to 15, 2025, these spiritual gatherings were led by the young priests of the Cilician Brotherhood.

On Friday, August 15, following the final ceremony, a procession of seminarians made its way to the monastery’s open-air altar, where the traditional blessing of salt and incense was performed on the altar consecrated to the memory of the Martyrs of the Genocide. V. Rev. Fr. Shenorhk Ashekian presided over the service, offering the prayers of the Church Fathers.

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This news was originally published on the website of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, Antelias, Lebanon.