BAREKENDAN (EVE)
id089Barekendan translates from Armenian as "affluent life", "well being", or "joy of life". In church service this word denotes the day that precedes the Great Lent as well as the days that precede week-long fasts. Eve of Great Lent is called Boon or principle (main) Barekendan, other Barekendans have the names of the fasts which they precede. All Barekendans occur on Sundays with the exception of Christmas Barekendan.
For the followers of Christ this word acquires a deeper, more spiritual meaning, symbolizing the true nature of the soul, not yet damaged by death [of sin], representing the genuine well being of the first men in paradise, lost because of Adam's disobedience. The ultimate goal of the Christian is to contract the elements of this well being. Those who were established in faith and led pious lives will experience its completeness at general resurrection.
The annual alternations in a spiritual rhythm of feasts and fasts are living milestones on a Christian’s long and difficult path to salvation. Immersing into the atmosphere of festive rejoicing, he foretastes the life of abundant grace in his heavenly fatherland, while advancing through most difficult feat of fasting and repentance he mourns and repels new temptations, so that later, cleansed from defilement, he can more greatly rejoice in the joy of the upcoming feast.
The feast of Barekendan is important in gaining a deeper understanding of this contrast of change in sentiment caused by the church calendar. The joyful holiday at the same time prepares the faithful for the forthcoming Lent. Delighting in festive meals of the day and conjuring thoughts of the first men’s blissful stay in paradise, Christian reflects on the upcoming labor of fasting and gives a vow "to bring forth fruits meet for repentance" [
Mattew 3.8].
