Theologian and philosopher  – regarded to be the greatest teacher of the Armenian Church.

Today, Dec. 9th, the Armenian Church celebrates the Conception of St. Mary. This feast is one of the few tied to an actual calendar date (the Armenian Church calendar is wild, y’all).

What did the feast day look like in our house tonight? Well, Vartan and I were too busy with work to cook a nice dinner or even order takeout, but we managed to cobble together a “game night” and enjoyed a fire in the fireplace. (Shoutout to Hye Lezu’s Fruit & Veggies Armenian Bingo game, by the way.) The kids and I colored while Vartan made the fire.

Here’s the coloring page I made. It’s based on this Armenian Bible cover. If you download it and use it, I’d love to see how yours turns out! See some photos of ours below.

Re. the Conception of Mary in the Armenian Church, see this Q&A from the book, “Frequently Asked Questions about the Armenian Church“:

Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The teaching on the Immaculate Conception was in wide circulation in the West in the Middle Ages and was rejected by several prominent Medieval Catholic theologians, including St. Thomas Aquinas. The Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox churches never accepted it and considered it an innovation that was alien to the teachings of the fathers of the church.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (§ 491-492), the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ our Savior, “was redeemed from the moment of her conception.” This teaching, which has a long history in the West but was unknown in Armenian circles, was not accepted as a Roman Catholic dogma until 1854, when Pope Pius IX issued an encyclical (Ineffabilis Deus) declaring that Mart “from the first moment of her conception…was by God’s grace and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ…immune from all stain of original sin.” Archbishop Kevork Hurmizian, a member of the Mekhitarist order of Venice, was among the prelates who requested the Pope declare this teaching a dogma of the Catholic Church.

In the Armenian tradition there is no mention of the Holy Virgin’s conception until the 14th century. It was during the late Cilician period that he Armenian Church fathers became aware of some of the questions about the Holy Virgin’s conception under discussion among the theologians of the Roman Catholic Church. The Feast of the Virgin’s Conception, which is now celebrated on December 9, was not introduced into the Armenian tradition until the 17th Century, and it was done so under Western influence.

The earliest Armenian discussion about the Conception of the Virgin is to be found in St. Gregory of Datev’s Book of Questions, where he upholds the view that is traditional in the East. According to this, the Holy Virgin was free of the seven cardinal sins and all the forgivable sins, but show as now immune from original sin, with which all humans are born. According to St.Gregory of Datev, the Holy Virgin was cleansed of original sin by the Holy Sprit at the time of Annunciation. Christ, taking body from the Holy Virgin, took the original sin of mankind on himself and took it with him onto the cross: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). The Armenian Church’s view of the Holy Virgin in this matter is best summarized by the 12th Century Catholicos St. Nerses the Graceful, who states: The Virgin Mary, from whom he took flesh, was of the peccable nature of Adam [the nature being] united with the divine nature of God, the peccable became impeccable…

The Eastern Orthodox and the Armenian veneration of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin differs from that of the new Roman Catholic dogma, which implies that Mary did not die because of her immunity from original sin. The Eastern churches maintain that Mary died and they celebrate her Dormition as well as her Assumption. The Assumption in the Eastern churches is a pious belief, whereas in the Roman Catholic Church it has been declared a dogma ever since 1950.

If you want to learn more about who St. Mary IS in/to the Armenian Church, the Eastern Diocese’s Virtual Pilgrimage to the Tomb of Mary is great. I remember Session 3: Mary the Mother of God being especially informative, but the whole thing is worth a watch. (Or trip? 😉)

Been making lots of these lately. Since today is Transfiguration, figured I’d share this one! Lots of other exciting stuff coming soon. Finally progress on some language stuff, and the translation of the book about Armash is done! Hope folks enjoy coloring this in as much as I enjoyed making it. ~K

From the Sharagnotz (book of hymns) of the Armenian Orthodox Church:

Today the Holy Church celebrates the memory 
of the invincible Saint Hripsime;
With the bodiless hosts blessing the Lord God of our fathers.

Today Saint Hripsime was called into the Kingdom of Heaven
For in combat with the tyrant she courageously conquered him.
Confessing Christ the King, the Lord God of our fathers.

…

With new songs of praise, praise Christ the King
Who adorned Saints Hripsime and Gayaneh with a resplendent crowns.

…

Christ God, You opened to Saint Hripsime the door of faith;
To confess your divinity by martyrdom among the Armenians.

She, clad in victory, shines in radiant mansions;
And with the hosts of the bodiless, confesses Christ the King.

Receive us also who have assembled here, O Savior;
Through the intercession of the holy virgin companions of Hripsime;
as a child of God.
And write us down in the book of life.

Here’s a coloring page I made, based on an Armenian miniature from a medieval illuminated manuscript.

As I previewed in my last post, I’ve been making a lot of these! It’s been fun, and I’m even thinking about making a coloring book. But until I get my act together on that ambition, please go ahead and enjoy the drawings for free 😊🙏

Download and print the page as a PDF: