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Muron is a blend of oil, flowers, and perfumes used in the Armenian Apostolic Church for anointing babies, consecrating churches, and anointing priests and political leaders. It is made by melting blessed components in a cauldron and cooking for three days. Muron is blended every seven years, and representatives from all over the world take small bottles to their home churches. Priests must maintain physical contact with the container and cannot leave it unattended.
Muron is a consecrated blend of oil, flowers and perfumes used in the Armenian Apostolic Church in various ritual activities. Traditionally, babies are anointed with this mixture when they are baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church and anointed again at their Confirmation. It is also used to consecrate churches and to anoint newly minted priests and political leaders. Being anointed with muron is a form of sacrament in the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The tradition of making muron dates back to the 4th century AD when Saint Gregory the Illuminator introduced Christianity to the region and made the first batch of soorp muron, as it is known to the Armenians. The oil has long been used for symbolic anointing in many religious traditions, representing light, healing and nourishing life. Olive oil, the blend’s traditional base ingredient, represents peace and reconciliation, referencing the olive branch brought to Noah by a dove after the Flood, according to the Bible.
Making muron is a long process. The various components are blessed before being melted in a cauldron and left to cook for three days, after which the mixture rests before being strained and creamed with olive oil in a public ceremony. Traditionally, the dough is not left unattended once the mixing process has begun and a little of the last batch is added, thus literally passing the tradition down through the ages.
Muron is also sometimes called “chrism” or “holy oil”, referring to the traditional Catholic chrism. This holy oil is an important part of the Armenian apostolic faith. Various other substances are also used for blessings, anointings and sacraments, including rose water and rosemary branches dipped in holy water. These sacred substances are also included in the ritual blessing and mixing of the concoction.
The Muron is blended every seven years, and when finished, representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church from all over the world arrive to take small bottles of it to take back to their home churches. The vials are transferred to silver containers designed to dispense single drops at a time, storing the mixture until a new batch is made. Once a priest receives the mixture from the mother church, he cannot leave it unattended and must preferably always maintain physical contact with the container. This caused problems in 2008 when Armenian apostles became concerned about airline regulations banning liquids in the passenger cabin of planes. Eventually, many priests were forced to pack their muron in checked baggage, although this was a breach of tradition.
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