Employees and patients and their families took part Aug. 9 in the Blessing of the Grapes ceremony at Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center.
The ceremony was presided over by the Very Rev. Father
Dajad Yardemian, VIcar General of the Armenian Western Diocese, who was joined by other clergy.
The ceremony is an ancient Armenian tradition every August during the feast of the Assumption of St. Mary. In this annual ritual, the priest would walk in a procession carrying a pair of scissors in his right hand and a cross in his left hand. He would bless the vineyard and the grapes. The ceremony is rooted in the New Testament of the Bible, where Jesus likened himself to a grapevine, saying, "I am the true Vine." (Jn 15:1-7)
Following the ceremony, which was held in the hospital's auditorium, grapes were passed out to staff, patients, and families of patients.