Good morning, friends. Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God, her passage from earth to heaven. The Church tells us that after her peaceful dormition, her soul was received into the divine hands of her Son and carried up into heaven. Her body was laid to rest by the apostles in Gethsemane, and on the third day, she was raised and taken into glory. In our Armenian tradition, we speak of the Ննջումն Ս. Աստուածածնի, the Dormition of the Mother of G

A tree grows in two directions at the same time. It reaches upward toward the light, and it reaches downward into the earth. The branches are visible. The roots are hidden. We admire the leaves, the blossoms, and the fruit, but no one stops to praise the roots. Yet without the roots, there would be no fruit. Before a tree can grow upward, it must first grow downward. Its roots must push through dark soil, damp ground, stones, and resistance. Long before anything beautiful app

At the Armenian Hagigadar Monastery in Suceava, Romania, August 2025 There is something fascinating about the sound of a church bell. When someone pulls the rope, the bell begins to swing. The clapper strikes the metal, and the sound travels through the air. It moves across the village, through the streets, and over the rooftops. But when the person releases the rope, the bell does not immediately become silent. The rope may be hanging still. The hand may have let go. No one