On August 17, 2025, on the feast of Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, the parish priest of the Armenian Catholic communities of Ashotsk region, Fr. Hovsep Galstyan served a Holy Mass in Mets Sepasar village, dedicated to strengthening of faith of the community, establishing peace in the country and security of the borders. After the Holy Mass the ceremony of blessing of grapes was performed, attended by H.E. Kevork Archbishop Noradounguian. This was the first pastoral visit of His Excellency to the community of Mets Sepasar.

The Ordinary blessed and anointed the new cross stone next to the church of the Holy Savior, erected in the memory of martyred heroes of the 44-day Artsakh war, in particular, in the memory of fellow villagers Jivan Grigoryan and Samvel Mkrtchyan whose names are inscribed on the separate memorial plate. This cross stone was placed next to another, previously erected one, also dedicated to martyred Armenian heroes. The new cross stone was donated by Simavon Hovhannisyan, the serviceman from the same village, and the improvement work in the adjacent area was fulfiled at the expenses of Gevorg, Aharon and Martiros Poghosyans, living in Russia and also from Mets Sepasar by their origin. H.E. Kevork Archbishop Noradounguian performed the ceremony of anointing of the cross stone with the assistance of the local parish priest and with the participation of numerous believers, representatives of the community and military authorities.

His Excellency said in his homily:

”They were not martyred in vain, but for a sacred cause – for the defense of Homeland. Always try to overcome your heartache with this sense of honor. With this cross they will be present in your life every day from now on.Remeber them and cross yourself each time you pass by this cross stone. The life of Jesus did not end on the cross: it continued with His resurrection, and today we have another example – the one of our heavenly Mother. Till the last moment of her life Mary shared the mission of her Son, for which she was awarded the gift of the Assumption into the Heaven in body and soul. In this sense, I also think of our martyred soldiers. Martyrdom is not an end for them, but a comma after which they appear in a completely different status. May their memory remain immortal, and may this community never hesitate to send its other children to defend the Homeland and faith. And it is this way that we sanctify ourselves and our Homeland. Amen”.

After the homily of His Excellency Fr. Hovsep Galstyan also addressed the audience, expressing his gratitude to the Ordinary for performing the ceremony of anointing of the cross stone and for sharing with the community their memories, spiritual experience, excitement and hope for the future. He also called for not being limited only to external actions of erecting memorials, but for keeping the memory of the heroes through constant prayers for them at Holy Liturgies. He emphasized that the improvers of the area were descendants of the family of the first priest of the village, Fr. Poghos, who had moved here from Western Armenia at the beginning of the 19^th century and had founded the village. They are always ready to take care of the church and spiritual life.

The son of the family, Sayat Poghosyan also expressed gratitude on behalf of the villagers for anointing of the cross stone and attached great importance to the improvement of the surrounding area as a place of remembrance of the martyred soldiers, a place of meeting and leisure. He also emphasized that preservation of the spiritual and patriotic identity was of historical importance for the community, which was expressed in those two cross stones and the church of the Holy Savior built in the 19^th century.

After the homilies a small concert event took place, during which the schoolchildren recited verses and the students of the vocal section of Ashotsk cultural center performed together with their teacher Arthur Sahakyan, who is also a singer in the church of Holy Savior.

After the concert event His Excellency had a friendly talk with the faithful over a cup of coffee in the hall adjacent to the church.

Translated by Gohar Soghomonyan

Secretariat of the Ordinariate