Easter Sunday is followed by a period of fifty days (Hinants) during which there are no fasting days and no saints days. This period from the Resurrection to Pentecost (Hokekaloost) is dedicated to the glorification of the Resurrections. Each of the seven Sundays of Hinants has a special name. Last Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter, was “New Sunday.”
This Sunday, April 22, is “Green Sunday” (Ganach Giragi), also known as Sunday of the World Church (Ashkharhamadoor). The concept of Green Sunday most probably comes from an ancient folk holiday celebrating spring. Our forefathers, seeing mother earth bloom after long winter months, glorified the Creator with an act of thanksgiving and celebrated by decorating the church and themselves with greenery. The reawakening of nature is also symbolic of the Resurrection. Green is the color of life, freshness and promise. After a barren winter we are filled with hope, life, and love.
Green Sunday is also an appropriate time for us to remember our obligations to be good stewards of the earth and the gifts that have been given to us by God. With this in mind, 19 years ago, on May 12, 1993, the Clergy Conference at the National Representative Assembly [Armenian Prelacy] that took place at Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, issued a strong statement on the environment and recommended that every year, “Green Sunday, the second Sunday following Easter, be declared a day when all the members of the Church observe the sanctity of God’s creation and the purity of the environment.”
