The last of a four-part program on the Eucharist (Soorp Badarak) was held last night at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in New York City, under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor. The program was cosponsored by the Prelacy’s Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC) and the Cathedral. The speaker of the series was AREC’s director Dn. Shant Kazanjian.
Dn. Shant first discussed what biblical vision of worship is, highlighting its basic assumptions, contents, vocabulary, images and symbolic language. He then presented the origin and history of the Soorp Badarak, the central act of Christian worship, as well as its two-part structure – the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The bulk of the program was to walk the participants through the service, step-by-step, facilitated by a Badarak video and a detailed outline of the Badarak cross-referenced to the Prelacy’s Badarak book, explaining various elements, prayers and chants, as well as liturgical actions and symbols.
