Sunday, January 4

Divine Liturgy | 10:00 am
Blessing of Pomegranates immediately following
Blessed pomegranates will be distributed to the faithful to take home.

In Armenian tradition, the pomegranate as a national symbol reflects the meaning of life, prosperity and abundance. The Pomegranate is considered by many faith traditions to be the fruit of the tree of knowledge and a symbol of abundance and life.  A popular belief is that each one contains 365 seeds, corresponding to the number of days in a year, symbolizing new life in Christ and the New Year.

In Christianity, the pomegranate symbolizes the diversity of God’s grace, the Church.  Just as the seeds of the pomegranate are separated by thin membranes yet held tightly together, in the same way the Christian Church holds all Christians around the world together in Christ’s love; though they are separate, they are not divided.  Thus the pomegranate shows unity in diversity.