Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), ordained Dn. Leon Khoja-Eynatyan to the holy priesthood last weekend at St. Mary Church of Washington, D.C.

The two-day ceremony began on Saturday evening, July 10. Dn. Leon knelt before the altar in a traditional calling service that symbolizes a deacon’s formal presentation to the Lord as a candidate for the priesthood.

On Sunday, July 11, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, Archbishop Barsamian ordained Dn. Leon to the priesthood during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.

Also participating in the ordination service were the Rev. Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan, the pastor of St. Mary Church, and the Rev. Fr. Vertanes Kalayjian, the long-serving former pastor of the community. Fr. Karapetyan and Fr. Kalayjian served as sponsoring priests at the ordination.

Archbishop Barsamian performed the “laying on of hands” ritual, which binds all priests of the Armenian Church into the “apostolic succession,” linking clergy through the generations back to Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew-who brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century-and back before them to Christ himself.

Archbishop Barsamian later consecrated Dn. Leon’s forehead and his hands with holy chrism (muron), and gave him the priestly name “Hovhan.” At the conclusion of the service, the newly ordained priest gave his first blessing to the faithful at St. Mary Church.

In his sermon, the Primate spoke about the Feast of the Transfiguration-one of the five major feast days of the Armenian Church which recalls Christ’s ascent up Mount Tabor with the disciples Peter, James, and John, where Christ was transfigured in a blinding white light and the voice of God affirmed Jesus as his Son.

“The disciples see our Lord transformed,” Archbishop Barsamian said. “And in doing so, the disciples are transformed as well-but in a different way. Peter, James, and John, after sharing this special moment with Jesus, go on to become the greatest supports in Christ’s ministry; the ones our Lord most relied on-and the ones from whom he expected the most.”

“Today, in this church, we have seen a similar kind of transformation-as mysterious in its way as the Transfiguration,” Archbishop Barsamian continued. “In this ordination, we have seen a man transformed. Today, the Holy Spirit entered into Dn. Leon Khoja-Eynatyan, and he became something new.”

The entire Parish Council hosted the ordination; chair Zakar Shahverdian served as godfather. A celebratory luncheon followed in the church hall.

Source: www.armenianchurch.net