Armenian Apostolic Holy Church Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Beloved faithful people,

Today, gathered in our churches, we celebrate the Holy and Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We glorify the Son of God, who for our salvation accepted every sacrifice, endured sufferings, was crucified, buried, and rose again. Through the Resurrection of the Savior, the path of new life has been illumined. Humanity, having fallen away from God through Adam’s sin and subjected to the dominion of death, was called by our Savior, the Lord Jesus, to a resurrected life, so that, freed from the bonds of evil and death, it might become worthy of the saving grace of the Lord and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. “As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life,” teaches the Apostle.

Through the Lord’s redeeming work, humanity was granted the divine blessing to return to the Heavenly Father through repentance and to find, from the darkness of suffering, the radiant path of resurrection. The resurrected life granted by Christ begins, beloved, with the renewal of heart and soul, when a person is strengthened by faith, lives in the presence of God, becomes a new creation, and performs what is good and praiseworthy. With faith in the Resurrection of Christ and by fulfilling the Lord’s commandments, it becomes possible to turn away from devious paths, overcome the hardships of the times, and walk in the ways of love, truth, and righteousness, as the Apostle exhorts: “Walk as children of light; for the fruit of the light is goodness, righteousness, and truth” (Ephesians 5:8–9).

Indeed, through faith in the Resurrection, a new dawn in human history will open, the world will be renewed, and the just hopes for universal peace and security will be fulfilled. Yet, amid the turmoil of the world, it seems that the Apostle’s exhortations and the Gospel message have fallen silent, and God’s creation is being dishonored and endangered by wrongdoing and lawlessness. Human life is shaken and shattered by conflicts, hostility, and wars. In order to establish a just and prosperous world, in the face of present multifaceted threats, nations and states must more zealously pursue the will of Almighty God, to overcome existing trials and strengthen the foundations of universal solidarity, peaceful coexistence, and fruitful cooperation. Through such common efforts, peoples “shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore,” as the prophet proclaims (Isaiah 2:4).

Beloved, years after the tragic war of Artsakh, anxieties and concerns still do not leave our hearts, which long for peace and security. Our people know well the value of peace and safety, for which the sons and daughters of our nation have given their lives. The sorrows and wounds we have endured remain fresh, and their pain is deepened today by the violation of the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh and the unlawful imprisonment of our compatriots held captive. The pain deepens when the seeds of division continue to be sown, when cherished values are neglected and distorted, when arbitrary and selective justice is practiced, and persecutions are carried out against the Church through false and fabricated accusations by the authorities. The Church is unshaken in Christ, strong, and steadfast. The Church is the house of God, the community of believers, with its saving mission as a herald and proclaimer of peace and brotherly love, and an unceasing preacher of Christ’s glorious Resurrection. The Church continually raises the call to a resurrected life, preserving her children from despair and injustice, and safeguarding our homeland and national life from destructive paths. The resurrected life can never exist through alienation and division, the distortion of Christian values, the diminishment and restriction of the Church’s mission, the distortion of national interests, or the falsification of justice and truth. Until we reject evil deeds and destructive actions, we cannot establish renewal and flourishing, progress and prosperity in personal and social life, nor build the enduring future of our people.

Therefore, beloved, our pontifical exhortation is this: let us choose good over evil, reconciliation over discord, honesty and integrity over falsehood and deceit, mutual respect and support over dishonor and treachery. Let us be guided by a commitment to eliminate harmful and destructive phenomena, by determination to rise from our defeats, and by zeal to preserve the heritage of our ancestors unblemished. Let us prefer love, solidarity, and unity, so that through joint efforts we may rise from the trials and difficulties that have befallen us, strengthen our statehood, and build the progress and prosperity of our nation. Let us always remain faithful to our risen Lord, who “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify for Himself His own people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

With the joyful glad tidings of the Holy Resurrection, from the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, we extend our fraternal greetings to the Heads of the Hierarchical Sees of our Holy Apostolic Church: His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia; His Beatitude Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem; His Beatitude Archbishop Sahak Mashalian, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople; and to the entire devoted clergy of our Holy Church. We also extend Our greetings to our spiritual brothers in Christ, the Heads of sister Churches, and to their faithful flocks. Our pontifical love and blessing to our people devoted to national and spiritual values. Our paternal appreciation to each of you, beloved, for your enduring faithfulness and heartfelt dedication to the homeland and to our Holy Church. We have felt and continue to feel every day the power of your prayers. It is through you that our Holy Church stands flourishing and unshaken, a Church that even the trials of the centuries have not destroyed. Through you, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin stands strong, steadfast, and radiant. Continue to live in prayer, labor and create with love for the homeland and the Mother Church, for the sake of opulence of our country and its bright future.

On this day of spiritual renewal, let us together raise prayer to the risen Son of God, that by His boundless mercy He may grant peace and security to the whole world and to our homeland. Let us beseech that our people throughout the world be strengthened by heavenly life-giving grace, living a life inspired by faith, with a courageous and unbreakable spirit to overcome difficulties. Let us pray that truth, justice, and unity be firmly established in our national life, so that with good fruits and new achievements beneficial to the nation and homeland, we may realize the aspirations of our people, for the glory of God and for the everlasting opulence of our nation and our Holy Apostolic Church.

Let us also pray for our brothers and sisters suffering from the calamities of war, for those unlawfully imprisoned, for the missing and their families, and for those in hardship and deprivation, as well as for those in need of healing. May the all-protecting Right Hand of God, His love and blessings, be a shelter for us all, today and always and forever. Amen.

Christ is risen from the dead,
Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ.