Your trusted source

The entire week leading up to Easter or Holy Resurrection is known as Holy Week (in Armenian Avak Shabat). During this period, the Armenian Apostolic Church marks the most important events of Our Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly life – his entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), his last supper, betrayal, crucifixion, entombment and his triumphant resurrection.

Holy Monday is dedicated to the creation of heaven and earth, the foundation for Christ's Second Creation, Qahana.am reports. The Gospel readings tell us about the story of the “cursed fig tree.” On his way back to Jerusalem Jesus was hungry. He saw a fig tree by the side of the road and went to it but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to the tree, “You will never again bear fruit!” At once the fig tree dried up. The disciples saw this and were astounded. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked. Jesus answered, “If you believe you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Mt 21:22).

According to 7th-century historian Stepanos Syunetsi, the fig tree “is the circumcised people to whom hungry Jesus came and found no fruit on it, but only seeming life, so as the result of his coming the tree dried up.”