Bishop Shnork KALOUSTIAN
( 1913 - 1990 )

The following pages contain what the title of the booklet implies: simple talks on certain Saints and Sacraments of the Armenian Church, as well as talks on Holy Days and various religious and ecclesiastical subjects, such as Holy Etchmiadzin, Religion, Death and the like.
These titles present neither elaborate studies nor pious generalities. They contain plain facts and easy explanations on certain matters of interest to Church people. Most of them have been given as sermons from church pulpits. A few of them were lectures, read at Ladies' Aid Meetings, Youth Assemblies, or Sunday School Teachers' conferences. Some of them were articles published in the official paper of the Armenian Church Youth Organization of California. Others were added while revising these articles. As they were written on various occasions and in different periods of time, there is no uniformity of method, nor unity of treatment in presenting these articles.
I had no intention of publishing such a book. I yielded, however, to the pressure of some close friends who, after reading some of the articles, insisted that they should be published in booklet form. If anybody benefits from the reading of this booklet, the credit goes to these friends. Its shortcomings, of course, are mine alone.
While preparing some of these articles years ago, I have benefitted from the books of my library which is left in California. Unfortunately, I had not put down references in the first draft of these articles. I have revised and edited the draft in Jerusalem and I have no means of finding out how much and where I have benefitted from various sources.
The transliteration of the Armenian words into English is a thorny question. Although we have a regular system of transliteration, yet the application of that system does not give the actual sound values of the words transliterated. For example, the Armenian form of the word for Lucas when transliterated according to this classical rule, is pronounced is Llougas or Ghoogas. Therefore, I have not followed any specific rule in transliteration; I have tried to give the nearest possible sound >f the Armenian words in English letters.
My sincere thanks to His Beatitude the Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan, Patriarch Elect of Jerusalem, Very Rev. James M. Malloch, D.D., Dean Emeritus of St. James' Episcopal Cathedral, Fresno, California, and Dr. Arra S. Avakian of Weston, Massachusetts for reading the manuscript and making valuable suggestions. My special thanks goes to Dr. Malloch for writing the foreword of this booklet.
My blessings and thanks to Deacon Richard Sarafian of Alameda, California, Miss E. Koojoolian of Fresno, California, Miss Y. Manoug-ian of Jerusalem, for typing, sometimes retyping, the manuscript. Last but not least, my thanks to Brother Hagop Semerjian of Jerusalem, who made most of the pictures used in the book. May God reward them all abundantly.
Bishop S. Kaloustian
July 4, 1958, Jerusalem