1) How It Looks

Our first hymn is also a prayer, and not only a prayer, but the prayer which Our Lord himself gave us. For this reason, we sing this special hymn standing up, and with our hands out and palms up, open to Our Lord in prayer. As the entire altar and congregation is censed, a sweet scent rises to God along with our prayers. Click the video above to watch the “Hayr Mer” during Badarak at St. Sahag Mesrob Church in RI.

2) How It Sounds

1. Press the “Show Audio Player” button above and press play to listen to the entire hymn sung beautifully and faithfully.
2. Play again from time to time as you learn, learn and practice the words and music below. Now you can sing along here and at church!

3) The Words & Music

1. Press “Save PDF” buttom above to download the hymn.  First Scroll to the bottom of hymn for the English translation to read & pray the words of hymn…Know what you are singing and who you are singing for!
2. Next, read aloud the Armenian transliteration of the hymn. Repeat aloud two more times.

4) Word Art

The word art below takes all the words of the hymn in Armenian, English and transliteration and weaves them into a beautiful picture.  The more often a word is used the larger the word appears.  What are the most important words in this hymn?  Who is this prayer to, who from, who is cc’ed? Does this prayer start in one “place” and move to another? Why?

5) Practice & Games

1. Practice the Armenian vocabulary using the quizlet flashcards below.
2. Now choose other review games and tests by scrolling “Choose a Study Mode” on the bottom right. Quiz yourself in “learn”mode or see how fast you can match terms with “scatter” or “spaceship” games.

6) Bringing Worship To Life

Prayer & Worship comes from the heart, and should be something that we do not only on Sunday, but every day. The setting of Hayr Mer below is not to be sung in church but at home or anywhere.  It is sung and composed by Gor Mkhitaryan an acclaimed recording artist from Armenia.  Do you like his version?  Do you think that “church” songs should be sung in different settings?