Navagadik of the HOLY CROSS
Etymologically, Navagadik means “newly built.” It is a general custom to hold an official opening ceremony for a newly constructed building. In this sense, the opening, dedication, or consecration of a newly built temple, church, house, or other object came to be known as Navagadik. Thus, the consecration of every newly built church, as well as the anniversary of its consecration, is called Navagadik.
The Armenian Church came to observe Navagadik on the days preceding major feasts, following a week of fasting. On these occasions, the strictness of the fast is relaxed without being entirely abolished: the prohibition against meat remains in effect, while fish and dairy products are permitted after the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. The less restrictive meal permitted on such a day is therefore also called Navagadik.
The term Navagadik is likewise applied to the days preceding the five Tabernacle Feasts of the Armenian Church, particularly in reference to this relaxation of the fasting rules. On the Saturdays preceding the Feasts of the Transfiguration (Vardavar), the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Khachveratz), fish and dairy products may be consumed after the celebration of the morning Divine Liturgy. Similarly, on the Eves of Holy Easter and the Nativity and Theophany, fish and dairy products are permitted following the evening Divine Liturgy.
Navagadik is also established as a distinct feast on the Saturday preceding the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Khachveratz). This observance commemorates the dedication and consecration of the Church of the Holy Resurrection in Jerusalem following its construction through the initiative of Queen Helena in the fourth century. The consecration of this great church is an important commemoration for the entire Christian world and is therefore observed annually on a fixed place in the liturgical calendar.
Thus, in Armenian Church tradition, Navagadik has two closely related meanings: the dedication or anniversary of the dedication of a newly built church, and the liturgical observance preceding a major feast during which the strictness of fasting is partially relaxed.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
~ Proverbs 3:9-17 ~
Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. My child, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
~ Isaiah 66:12-16 ~
For thus says the Lord: I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm, and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies. For the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to pay back his anger in fury, and his rebuke in flames of fire. For by fire will the Lord execute judgment, and by his sword, on all flesh; and those slain by the Lord shall be many.
~ 1 Timothy 3:14-16 ~
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.
~ Holy Gospel of St. John 10:22-42 ~
At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one." The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?" The Jews answered, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God." Jesus answered, "Is it not written in your law, "I said, you are gods'? If those to whom the word of God came were called "gods'—and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, "I am God's Son'? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, "John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true." And many believed in him there.