By Bishop Daniel Findikyan
The evening before the ordination, the bishop processes to his throne while the choir sings Oorakh Ler (Rejoice, Holy Church). He is seated on his throne in front of the altar for the ceremony of the Calling to the Priesthood. The clergy enter the church, bringing with them the candidate, who kneels down. Meanwhile they sing:
Nayats i mez yev voghormyats mez Krisdos, vor oonis pazoom kutootyoon (Look down on us O Christ, whose compassion is great, and have mercy upon us).
DEACON: Hramaya Der, orhnootyamp asel (Lord, bishop, give the blessing.)
BISHOP: May the Lord our God, who dwells on high, grant you heavenly joy.
Then they advance toward the middle of the Church while singing:
Vor Hayrt yes vorpots, yev tadavor ayryats Krisdos, vor oonis pazoom kutootyoon (Christ, the Father of orphans, the support of widows, whose compassion is great.)
DEACON: Hramaya Der, orhnootyamp asel (Lord, bishop, give the blessing).
BISHOP: May the Lord of Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem, bless you.
Then they advance toward the chancel while singing:
Vor busagicht yes surpots, loor yev mez, aghotyook sotsa, Krisdos, vor oonis pazoom kutootyoon(Christ, whose compassion is great, and who crown the saints, through their prayers listen also to us).
DEACON: Hramaya Der, orhnootyamp asel (Lord, bishop, give the blessing.)
BISHOP: The Lord bids you to speak.
SPONSOR: Holy father, our holy mother Church requests that you ordain Deacon (Name), whom we present to you, to the order of priesthood.
BISHOP: And do you know whether he has come to this order by his own will and voluntarily takes the yoke of our Lord Jesus Christ, or is he forced to do so by his sponsors?
SPONSOR: By his own will and by the desire of his heart he here presents himself. He is not forced to do so by any person.
BISHOP: Thus says our Lord Jesus Christ: “No man can come to me, unless my heavenly Father draws him to me” [Jn 6:44]; and “Him who comes to me, I will not cast out” [Jn 6:37]. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [Mt 11:28-30].
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der (Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing).
BISHOP (Making the sign of the cross): May the calling of the almighty power of God empower you to bear lovingly the yoke of Christ and to follow willingly the Redeemer for eternal joy. Amen.
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
BISHOP: Has he abandoned all earthly occupations and his everyday life? For our Lord says that he who does not forsake his father and his mother, sisters and brothers, and his own life also, cannot be my disciple [Lk 14:26]. Again He says, “You cannot serve two masters” [Mt 6:24]; so he who does not leave all these, take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me [Mt 10:38].
SPONSOR: Yes, holy father; he has abandoned all those things by the will of his heart, and with all his soul and strength he burns in the love of Christ [Mk 12:30]. And taking up his cross and following Christ he says, “The world is crucified to me and I to the world” [Gal 6:14]; for I have left all to follow Christ.
BISHOP: Thus says our Lord Jesus Christ: “Every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life” [Mt 19:29].
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der (Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing.)
BISHOP (Making the sign of the cross): May the promise of the almighty God Jesus Christ make you worthy of unspeakable joy; and may you inherit everlasting life, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man to conceive [1Cor 2:9], through the grace of Christ. Amen.
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
BISHOP: Has he kept his soul pure and holy from birth until now?
SPONSOR: Yes, holy father, he has kept his soul holy through the grace of God, and through His mercy he was instructed in holiness from his birth until today.
BISHOP: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” [Mt 19:14].
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der(Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing).
They lead the candidate before the Bishop.
BISHOP (Places his hand on the head of the candidate): May the same blessing of the divine Arm rest upon you, and keep you holy for the service of the holy Church, henceforth and forever more.
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
BISHOP: Does he have complete training for the priesthood and knowledge of the divine laws? For he who is not knowledgeable in the holy scriptures does not possess the power of God that is in them, as the Gospel attests. Beware, lest he be like those, of whom the great Solomon complained: “Woe unto those who left the teaching of their youth and have forsaken the divine covenant” [Pr 2:17].
SPONSOR: He has studied for the priesthood from the time of his youth. He has the knowledge of the laws of God, having been instructed in them with perfect faith, through his profession of Christ.
BISHOP: Thus says our Lord Jesus Christ: “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me, and I write my laws in their heart” [Jn 6:45].
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der (Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing.)
BISHOP (Making the sign of the cross): The Lord’s commandments are light and they give light to the eyes. May they illuminate the eyes of your mind, that the light of the knowledge of Christ our God may be bright in you and that the Lord’s saying be true of you, that “You are the light of the world” [Mt 5:14]; and again, that “There is no portion of darkness in you. And may you shine like the sun in the heavenly kingdom” [Mt 14:43] with all the saints, according to the saying of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it.)
BISHOP: Is he able to vow to follow in the steps of Christ in poverty, in hunger, in thirst, in affliction, in persecution, in shame, and in suffering for the sake of Christ? For our Lord says, that “He who serves me must follow me” [Mt 16:24]. These are the steps of Christ, as we have shown.
CANDIDATE: I consent and vow, as did the sons of Zebedee [Mk 10:39], to do all of this with love, by the will of God and by virtue of his power, to the best of my ability.
BISHOP: Thus says our Lord Jesus Christ: “As my Father has assigned to me, so I assign to you the kingdom of heaven; that you may eat and drink with me at the table of my Father in my kingdom” [Lk 22:29-30].
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der (Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing).
BISHOP Making the sign of the cross: May the same promise of the divine commands find its fulfillment in you, according to the true word that says, “And what I say to you I say to all” [Mk 13:37] by writing your name in the book of life with the blessed ranks of the holy apostles. Amen.
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
BISHOP: After all this, do you still resolve to persevere continually, tirelessly and soberly in the service of God, and not to substitute bodily work for the works of God? As Peter says, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” [Acts 6:2].
CANDIDATE: With all preparedness I commit myself to persevere tirelessly in the ministry of God’s Church and not to impede God’s work by bodily labor, and inasmuch as my power allows, to serve Him all the days of my life, following the will of the Lord.
BISHOP: Thus says our Lord Jesus Christ. “If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also” [Jn 12:26].
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der (Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing).
BISHOP (Making the sign of the cross): May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ empower you to serve the living God at all times and to inherit the promised place, of which He said, “Where I am, there shall my servant be” [Jn 12:26]; may he inflame your mind always in the same love.”
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
BISHOP: Will you obey all the decrees of the holy apostles and fathers? Will you live according to their canons, neither omitting them, nor instructing anyone in a doctrine contrary to the Christian life?
CANDIDATE: I pledge to fulfill all your commands, to live according to the canons of the saints, and neither to omit them nor to oppose our predecessors.
BISHOP: Thus says our Lord Jesus Christ: “Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven [Mt 5:19].
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der (Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing).
BISHOP Making the sign of the cross: May the grace of the bestower of the commandments of God empower you to live always according to the rule of his laws, so that in fulfilling and in teaching them, you may be called great in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all the saints. Amen.
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
BISHOP: Has he a confessor? And has he learned about confession so that he may be able to receive the confession of the people when he advises them to avoid all sin; lest God require from him their blood? [Ez 33:7-9].
SPONSOR: Yes, holy father, he has a confessor and he has learned all that you have commanded.
BISHOP: Thus says our Lord Jesus Christ: “Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny” [Mt 5:25-26].
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der (Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing).
BISHOP (Making the sign of the cross): May the good shepherd, who gave himself for his rational flock, enable you to shepherd his flock in righteousness, being yourself an example for the flock of Christ. May he enable you to convert them from all evil, like the conversion of the prodigal son. And taking away all their sins, may you return to them their first garment. And when the chief shepherd appears, may you receive an unfading crown of glory [1Pet 5:4].
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
RENUNCIATION OF THE HERETICS
BISHOP: Do you profess the orthodox faith and believe in the Holy Trinity and in the incarnation of Christ our God according to the three councils; and do you renounce all heresies?
CANDIDATE: Yes, holy father, together with the holy fathers, I profess the Orthodox Faith and I confess the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the incarnation of Christ our God; and I anathematize all the ranks of heretics.
BISHOP: My son, you are required to renounce all 159 schismatics and to anathematize the ranks of heretics who spoke against the holy faith of Christ our God; and you must accept the orthodox holy fathers.
Do you anathematize those who do not confess Jesus Christ perfect God and perfect man and divinized man, and as a result do not proclaim the Holy Virgin Mary to be Mother of God?
CANDIDATE: Hrajharim yev nuzovem (I renounce and anathematize).
CHOIR: Nuzovyal yeghitsi (May they be anathema).
Then the Bishop asks the candidate to renounce the heretics, whom he lists by name. After each the candidate responds: Hrajharim yev nuzovem (I renounce and anathematize). The choir responds: Nuzovyal yeghitsin (May they be anathematized).
BISHOP: Anathematized and cursed be all those who deviate from the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
PROFESSION OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH AND THEOLOGIANSBISHOP: Since you have renounced all the evil heretics, you must henceforth follow and be a disciple of all the orthodox fathers and theologians.
CHOIR: Havidenagan hishadagn artarots orhnootyamp yeghitsi (Blessed be the eternal memory of the righteous).
Then the Bishop questions the candidate concerning his willingness to follow the teachings of the various holy fathers, whom he lists by name. After each question the candidate responds:Ashagerdim yev hedevim (I am a disciple and I follow). The choir responds: Havidenagan hishadagn artarots orhnootyamp yeghitsi (Blessed be the eternal memory of the righteous).
BISHOP: Havidenagan hishadagn artarots orhnootyamp yeghitsi (Blessed be the eternal memory of the righteous).
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
BISHOP: Thus says our Lord Jesus Christ: “Every one who confesses me before men, I also will confess before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” [Mt 10:32-33].
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der (Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing).
BISHOP (Making the sign of the cross): May the Holy Spirit of God, who descended upon the Jordan and the upper room and revealed the divinity of Christ, by spreading upon you the same effusion of gifts, open the veil of your mind to the knowledge of Christ’s divinity, according to the saying: “No man calls Jesus, Lord, but through the Holy Spirit” [1Cor 12:3]. And may he enlighten your mind in the profession of the orthodox faith, together with the holy fathers. Amen.
CHOIR: Yeghitsi, Yeghitsi (So be it. So be it).
The bishop orders the candidate to proclaim the profession of the orthodox faith written by the Armenian theologian St. Gregory of Datev (1409).
CANDIDATE: We confess and believe with most sincere heart in God the Father, uncreated, not born, and without beginning; who gave birth to the Son, and poured forth the Holy Spirit.
We believe in God the Word, uncreated, born from the Father before all ages, not subsequent and not inferior, but as much as the Father is father, so with him the Son is son.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit, uncreated and timeless, not born but proceeding from the Father, consubstantial with the Father and glorified with the Son.
We believe in the Holy Trinity, one nature, one divinity; not three gods but one God, one will, one sovereignty, one power; creator of the visible and the invisible.
We believe in the holy Church, in the remission of sins and in the communion of saints.
We believe that one of the three persons, God the Word, born of the Father before the ages, in time descended into the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary. Taking from her blood, he united it to his divinity. He waited patiently in the womb of the spotless Virgin for nine months, and the perfect God became perfect man in spirit, in mind, and in body; one person, one countenance, and one united nature. God became man without change and without alteration; a birth without seed and spotless, so that there was no beginning to his divinity and no end to his manhood, for Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for all ages [Heb 13:8].
We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ lived on earth. After thirty years he came to baptism. The Father witnessed from on high, “This is my beloved Son,” and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove. He was tempted by Satan and overcame him. He preached salvation for mankind. He labored bodily, hungered and thirsted. Then he willingly came to suffer. He was crucified and died in the body, living in divinity. His body was placed in a tomb, united with his divinity, and in spirit he descended into hell with his inseparable divinity. He preached to the souls, destroyed hell and liberated the souls. After three days, he rose from the dead and appeared to the disciples.   We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven with the same body, and was seated at the right hand of God the Father. And He will come with the same body and in the glory of the Father to judge the living and the dead and to give resurrection to all mankind.
We believe in recompense for works: for the just, eternal life; for sinners, eternal punishment.
DEACON: Yev yevus khaghaghootyan uzDer aghachestzook, ungal getzo yev voghormya. Orhnya Der (Again in peace let us beseech the Lord, receive save and have mercy. Lord, give the blessing).
BISHOP (Making the sign of the cross): May God, who is able to strengthen you, graciously keep you and fortify you with his blessing, and embellish with the splendor of grace your mind and senses, your heart and thoughts, your words and works, your comings and goings; and stretch over you his protecting arm, pouring upon you the gifts of the bright light of the Spirit, with sevenfold splendor; and as he inspired the order of the apostles by a fiery effusion [Acts 2:1-4], may he likewise richly furnish you with angelic gifts, that you may be joyful and exult with exuberant pleasure in interminable gladness, drinking the flood of the divine goodness. Through the grace of this blessing: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father who art in heaven…