One of the lesser known sacraments of the Armenian Church is a boy's (or girl's) first haircut. This sacrament is a time when the family brings a child to the church and asks for God to bless and anoint him or her as He did anoint King David. The Gospel reading is Matthew 10:29-32, when Christ reminds His disciples that even the hairs on their heads are counted by God. This shows how intimately God knows us and wants us to know Him. We are not on a mere first name basis with God, but He know everything about us, even unto the number of hairs we have.
Naturally, the priest does not give a full haircut, but cuts a little, in the sign of the cross, on the child's head, demonstrating that the everything the child will give up in life, will be for the glory of Christ, even from the very first hairs.
If you would like to see the service, click here.
