Welcome to Vemkar!
We are very excited to announce our new diocesan initiative called Vemkar, the online infrastructure of Eastern Diocese’s vision called Building up the Body of Christ. Vemkar is the digital interface connecting all five pillars together of the vision, which includes:
- Education & Formation
- Equipping Saints
- Holy Badarak
- Christian Service
- Structure & Operations
Our goal is for Vemkar to transform the way our faithful grow in their Christian faith and commitment to the Armenian Church.
Vemkar describes both the spirit and goal of our work. It is accessible to anyone and everyone, filled with multimedia and applicable resources as well as learning activities designed to enrich us in faith and edify our appreciation of the Armenian Church’s culture and theology.
In Armenian the word Vemkar (Վէմքար) refers to a flat stone that is consecrated by the bishop embedded within the center of the altar, upon which the chalice or Gospel book rests during Badarak. In other words, the only portion of the altar necessary to celebrate Badarak is the vemkar.
A Vemkar is also sent to distant communities where there is no Armenian Church sanctuary. A priest places the Vemkar on any convenient table and places the chalice upon it to be able to celebrate the Holy Badarak. In this way, the presence of Christ is delivered to people who would otherwise have no access to the blessings of the Church. The same way our diocese delivers the Good News of the Gospel to our people through the Vemkar educational system!
Find all our great new resources, including the first “Christ as Healer” Module under the “Resources” tab above or by clicking the button below: