In accordance with the new order approved by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Pomegranate-blessing service was offered in all the churches of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, including the churches of the general prelacy of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli region and Batumi, on December 31, 2014.

Tbilisi’s Saint Echmiadzin Church in the presence of believers offered the Service and the Prayer of Thanks with the participation of all the clergy members.

At the end of the divine ceremony the parish priest Fr. Manuk Zeinalyan spoke about the sacrament of the Pomegranate-blessing; he explained that in the Armenian tradition, the pomegranate,being a national symbol,represents life, prosperity and abundance. Father told that in the Christian symbolism the pomegranate is the symbol of the blood shed by Jesus Christ. He added that the church members are as many and as diverse as the granules of pomegranatesand as the pomegranate is covered by a solid peel and united around one Church.

Then the Fathers blessed the pomegranates brought by the believers. Bishop Samvel Torosyanencouraged everyone to participate each year in the service of Pomegranate-blessing in the Armenian churches on New Year’s Eve at 12:30 and wished everyone Happy New Year and Merry Christmas.