Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is the last one of the five major feasts of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and is dedicated to the glorification of the Holy Cross. It is a movable feast and this year it was properly celebrated in the churches of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, on September 11.

On this occasion a cross decorated with basil leaves was solemnly placed on the altar in the Churches. Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the churches on the occasion of the feast.

The celebrant in the Cathedral of Saint George was Very Rev. Father Khoren Hovhannisyan, assistant to the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia.

During the Divine Liturgy, Father Khoren offered a homily about the message of the day and said: “…to take up your cross and follow Jesus are not just words or philosophy, dear faithful. To take up your cross and follow Jesus it is a way of life, it is a lifestyle. To follow Jesus it means to deny your self, to sacrifice your material possessions. There is no Christianity without sacrifice, without depriving yourself and without bothering yourself. I want you all to remember that one cannot be called a Christian without making a sacrifice. Sacrifice means giving whatever you have, giving the thing you think is precious and what the other person needs. But especially, when this sacrifice is offered for the glory of God; this is a true sacrifice, dear faithful, when you reach into your pocket, touch your own belongings to help others for the glory of God. To say it with one word, I call it love. Sacrifice is the true measure of love. Those who love with all their hearts can make a lot of sacrifices. Those who are deprived of love do not understand true sacrifice. Strong love involves sacrificing a lot, because one loves his fellow and does it for the glory of God. Giving does not make us poorer, but on the contrary - it makes us richer; and as a great Western Armenian poet once said: “What has stayed with me in life is what I have given others, it is strange, but only this… ”

The celebrant in the St. Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi was Rev. Father Virap Ghazaryan.

In the Surb Prkich (Saint Savior) Church in Batumi, following the Divine Liturgy, the Pastor of the Church Rev. Father Ararat Gumbalyan blessed the pots with harisa, which was cooked of the sacrificed lamb by the members of Church-loving Women’s Association.

On the same day, in the Diocesan Churches, following the evening service, the cross procession was held.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was solemnly celebrated with the Divine Liturgy in the churches of Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda, Akhaltsikhe of Samtskhe-Javakheti region, Marneuli, Tetritskaro, Tsalka of Kvemo Kartli region.