- The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Palm Sunday (Ծաղկազարդ) today, April 13, 2025.
- Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
- By decree, it is also the day for the blessing of children in the Armenian Church.
- The holiday is marked by the blessing and distribution of olive and willow branches.
- Palm Sunday symbolizes victory, peace, and the beginning of Holy Week.
What is the significance of Palm Sunday for the Armenian Church?
Palm Sunday, or Ծաղկազարդ, celebrated on the Sunday preceding Easter, commemorates the day Jesus Christ made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This event is recounted in the Gospels, where crowds greeted Jesus by spreading palm branches and their cloaks on his path, hailing him as the Messiah.
Why is Palm Sunday also the day of blessing children?
By the high order of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, Palm Sunday has been proclaimed as the day of the blessing of children. This tradition stems from the biblical account where children in the temple of Jerusalem exclaimed, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:15) as Jesus entered. In Armenian churches today, a special blessing ceremony for children is conducted on this day.
How did people welcome Jesus into Jerusalem?
The faithful in Jerusalem welcomed Jesus with great enthusiasm, spreading their garments and olive and palm branches on the road as he rode into the city. They shouted, “Hosanna to the Highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the 1 Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Mark 11:9-10).
What are the symbolic meanings of the Palm Sunday traditions?
The church fathers interpret the spreading of garments before Jesus as a symbol of confessing sins to Christ. The offering of branches signified special honor and solemnity. The olive tree was seen as a symbol of wisdom, peace, victory, and glory. The offering of olive and palm branches to Christ, who had raised Lazarus from the dead, also symbolizes victory over death.
What else does Palm Sunday symbolize?
Ծաղկազարդ also symbolizes the first day of creation when God created heaven and earth, and light spread, dispelling darkness. It further represents the first age when the earth was adorned with plants and flowers, and Adam and Eve rejoiced in Paradise. The text draws a parallel, noting that just as Cain killed Abel out of envy in that first age, the Jews, plotting evil, killed Christ and became heirs to Cain’s curse.
How is Palm Sunday observed in Armenian churches?
On the eve of Palm Sunday, Saturday, a vigil service is held, and the altar curtain is opened. The following day, the festive Holy Mass is celebrated with the altar curtain remaining open. On Palm Sunday morning, churches bless olive or willow branches, which are then distributed to the faithful. The barren willow branches symbolize the Gentiles who only bore fruit after being grafted onto Christ. The softness of the branches represents the humility of Christ’s followers. These branches are our offerings to the Lord, akin to the gifts brought by the Magi from the East on Christmas.
What is the overall message of Palm Sunday?
Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem as King symbolically shows Him as the King of Glory who removes the curse and grants life. Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, and sight for the blind, as prophesied by Isaiah. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Jesus’s earthly life before his crucifixion and resurrection.