Page 125 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

126 The Armenian Church

namely Christmas, Easter, Transfiguration,
Assumption of St. Mary, and Exaltation of
the Holy Cross. The day following these
۟
feasts is a memorial day (mer ◌ eloc‘); requiem
service is performed for all the faithful
departed, and people visit the graves of their
deceased loved ones.

Other Expressions of Spirituality
A number of practices and traditions
further enhance and reveal the depth, spe-
cificity, and richness of the Armenian
Church's spirituality. They are an integral
and inseparable part of the liturgy and
sacraments. The most important ones are:

The Holy Muron
The holy muron (surb miwr˙on) has a
particular function in the liturgical, sacra-
mental, and spiritual life of the Armenian
Church. It is used by the clergy only in
the confirmation service after the baptism,
during the consecration of priests, bishops,
and catholicoi, and in the blessing of new
churches, images, and water. According to
the centuries-old tradition, the holy muron
is prepared with olive oil and the essence of
more than forty flowers, trees, and herbs,
comprising balsam of Peru and Mecca
cloves, must mallow, ginger, nard indic,
cubebs, indigo, cinnamon, olibanum, car-