The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-10-03

hn Armenian Priest breaches in
Grace Episcopal Chapel.
New York sun.

of the Armenian church ever held III TINS
! city was celebrated Yesterday afternoon
| by special sanction of Bishop Potter i'll
| Grace Chapel in East Fourteenth street.
! Niter the service, the first Armenian baby
/ ever baptized in this city was made the
recipient of the first Of the SaCraments,
according to a ritual, which is nearly or
| quite as old as Christianity, and i'll a Ian
guagc which is presumably as old as the
ritual.
Yesterdays service, although it took
place in the afternoon, COrrCSpOndcd with
the high mass of the Roman church. 1t
would have been held i'll the morning
could a suitable building have been OBJ
| tanned. The celebrant was the Rev. DR..
Saragian, who has been sent to this
country hv the Armenian Patriarch OF
Constantinople to look after the interests
OF the several thousand ArnIcnlans here.
He is Vartabcd, which is sort ot halt
way dignity between a priest and a
| bishop. In the absence OF bishop a
vartabed can perform the functions OF
one. DR.. Saragian was assisted by DR..
Theodorian and Enkscrgian as deaCons,
and Messrs. Arapian, Ayvadian Hissar-
| ton and EQuinian as clerks. Mr.. Equi-
man is editor of the Surhantag, a weekly
| Armenian newspaper printrdin Hobnken.
| the only one i'll this country.
Mrs. Hag0piail, the wife of diStn-
wuishcd member of the Armenian colony,
! sat in the Chancel and assisted in the
singing, although it Is as unusual ior Il
woman to perform such part as it is to
have mass in the afternoon.
! lA.4I nd i,I,
throughout the service in white surplices,
on the back of which were black crosses.
ln the preliminary part of the service the
| Nartabcd wore Il dark pHrple robe, and
on his head was the black peaked hood
of Doctor Of Divinity. When the time
came for the conservation of the elements
he wore dark red robe, embroidered
with fantastic figures OF gold while his
alb and stole were OF equal spcndor, and
his gorgeous girdle had gold clasp
His mitre was in keeping with this cos
tune, and he carried his episcopal staff.
On the altar was small gilt crucitiX,
with two lighted candles on each side.
Before the crucihX there presently stood
| the Chalicc and cup contained the water
and wine.
The service consisted principally OF
singing or chanting. Scarcely any of the
liturgy was spoken. As i'll the Greek
church, no instrument aided the voices.
The music was in general quaint and
weird, often sweet and plaintiye, while
at times it was evident that with large
chorus the effect would be grand. Dur
ing the entire service, a Ccnser swung by
one of the dcacons filled the church with
it's perfume, while the accents Of that
ancient tongue were Chanted i'll this mys-
| tic melody.
The congregation, which contained a
| good many who were not ArmenianS,
stood a good deal, but there was not
much knccling, even when the consc
Grated clements were uplilted for adora-
ton. There were continual crossing, but
with two fingers instead Of three, as is
the Greek custom. To a person who
couldn't tell Armenian lrcnl Latin, there
was much in the ceremonies which might
remind him of a Catholic service, but 4
glance at an English version of the
praver-boOk discovered expressions and
doctrine that Protcstants, or at any rate
EpiscopaIians, might subscribe to. In one
part of the service the Blessed Virgin and
many of the saints are PRAYED for, i'll
stead of being prayed to, or at least their
intcrCCSsiOn asked tor.
Part of the conservation OF the Gle
mcnts should have taken place behind a
curtain, but there bcingno curtain, every
thing was done in public.
After the reading of the Gospel and the
recital of the Nicenc creed, during which
the congregation stood, the Nartabed
preached sermon, in which he alluded
to the prosecutions many of his hearers
and nearly all their COuntrymcn had un-
dcrgOne at the hands Of the Turks. He
congratulated them on having settled III
a country where there is religious as well
as civil liberty.
! When the communion service was
ended the Vartabcd ard his six assist
ants grouped themselves around the font
at the side OF the chancel, and began a
particularly weird and not very meIodi-
ous chant Then a dark man came for
ward holding, wrapped up i'll towels, a
little olivc-skinned girl. The man was
! Gregory Parscghrian, an engraver, who
| lives III Brooklyn. His wife is Scotch.
| After a while the chanting ceased, and
/ the Nartabed took the child, who proved
! to he nude, andimmcrsed her little naked
{ body in the watcrin the font. Although
( the water was warm the child din't like
! the process, and for the first time proved
she had voice After she had again
been Wrapped in the towels, which were
also used for the practical purpose OF
! driving her, there was some more chant
| ing. and hen the Nartabcd. dipping a
/ cross nf moi hcr-tI-ueIr III oil anOintcl
/ the chlid's eyes, ears, mouth breast,
| handS and feet. The baby again bawled,
/ but stopped when the amounting ended.
/ The name with which she was baptized
was Elizabeth Lucy.
When the christening was over, and
consequently long after the communion
service, two men came forward and par
/ took of the wafer standing.
Jerome Park Races.