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Since the Gospel contains the words of Jesus, the Son of God, it is chanted with great solemnity. The senior deacon calls everyone to attention by chanting Broskhoomeh, "Be attentive" [13]. He takes the ornately bound Gospel book from the priest and elevates it high over his head. Lifting up the Gospel book is a sign of the authority of God's Word over our lives. When we commit ourselves to the wisdom of the Bible, we find there a powerful source of meaning and direction.
The altar servers then follow the senior deacon in procession around the holy altar. Just as we honor a hero by organizing a parade, in church we worship Jesus Christ by processing around the altar with the Gospel book that contains His Word. At the end of the procession, the deacon lowers the Gospel book so that those who will be reading the day's Scripture readings may kiss it, a sign of their faith and devotion.
The hymn that is sung during the Gospel procession, Soorp Asdvadz [Holy God], is also in honor of Jesus Christ, who is holy, mighty, and immortal, and who rose from the dead for our salvation [14]. As we sing this hymn, we should take comfort in how powerful a guardian we have in Jesus Christ.
This hymn is followed by a litany chanted by the deacons. A litany is a series of chanted petitions, or prayer requests, in which the deacon invites the people to pray for various intentions: for peace in the world, for the bishops of the church, for the Catholicos, for the clergy and faithful, for the deceased [15-16]. The deacon ends each petition with the words, uzDer aghachestsook [Let us beseech the Lord]. The choir and people respond, Der voghormya [Lord have mercy].
During and after the litany, the priest prays that God will answer our prayers; that he will "accept the supplications of us [His] servants and be merciful to us according to [His] great mercy..." [17].
>> The Reading of the Scriptures: We are
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