The Armenian Orthodox Apostolic Church has four feast days dedicated to the Holy Cross:Apparition of the Holy Cross, Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Discovery of the Holy Cross and Holy Cross of Varag. Of these the fourth is unique to the Armenian Church. It recounts the story of an Armenian priest in the seventh century, when Armenia was occupied by the Arabs, seeing a vision of the cross on Mount Varag in Vaspourakan. This year the feast of the Holy Cross of Varag was celebrated on 28th September 2008 in conjunction with a very special ritual. On this occasion His Holiness the Catholicos of All Armenians (Chief Bishop) performed one of the most ancient and mystical rituals of the Armenian church called Miwronorhnek, the Blessing of the Holy Chrism, performed once every seven years at Echmiadsin. In the whole of the 20th century, this ritual has been performed only nine times.
The ceremony is quite complex and preparations begin 40 days before the festive service. Seven layers of veils cover the cauldron in which the chrism is already fermenting. The prayer service begins a 40 day process of chanting of psalms, singing of hymns and scriptural readings,culminating in the Blessing of the Holy Chrism by the Catholicos of All Armenians, assisted by twelve bishops representing the church world wide.
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