SO THAT AS CHRIST WAS RAISED
FROM THE DEAD BY THE GLORY OF THE FATHER,
WE TOO MIGHT WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE? (ROMANS 6:4)
Dear and beloved pious Armenians,
On the occasion of the Glorious Resurrection of Christ, we once again greet you, our sons and daughters dispersed throughout the world, with a joyful spirit and the glad tiding of ?Christ is Risen from the dead?, and repeat the exhortative words of the Apostle, ?So that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.?
Today, the joy of the grace of God and the hope of resurrection have enveloped our souls. The ranks of angels, in elation with us, celebrate the defeat of death and the victory of life.
The Mother of God, who standing near the cross, had lamented the loss of her Son; through the Lord?s Resurrection was experiencing consoling joy on this grace-filled day.
The disciples, who had fled in fear, abandoning their beloved Teacher, were strengthened on this day with the faith of Resurrection, and became the bearers of the glad tidings of Resurrection, to illuminate the world with the light of the Gospel of Christ.
Two millennia after these events in the history of mankind, the Glorious Resurrection of Christ grants the same consolation and happiness to the living, through which we have the grace to pass from death to life, from darkness to light. Today as well, the words of the Apostle are very timely for nations and peoples, ?As Christ was resurrected from the dead by the glory of the Father, the same way we shall walk with a new life?. The world as yet cannot completely realize this message ? to walk with a new life in paths of peace, reconciliation, love and brotherhood. Today also, many greet the feast of the Resurrection in tumult and unease, in difficulties and worries, and in the dangers of war. The world is tempest-tossed akin to a biblical episode, but men are not eager to call upon the Lord, as did the Apostles who pleaded with their Teacher to calm the storm. Resonating once again today is the greeting of the Resurrected Savior: ?Peace be with you? (John 20:19), Who revealed his wounds and pierced side in order to bring the world to faith, while the world shows its wounds to protest against God and to depart from God.
In contrast to the fundamental problems facing mankind, the feast of Resurrection is the grace-filled source of new inspiration, strengthening of faith, and in the words of the Apostle, ?to walk in a new life?. It reinforces us to withstand difficult situations, and to establish peace, hope and love in the lives of men. Throughout history, as in our time, financial means and resources, mere secular understandings and methodologies, have simply not been enough to face challenges, stop socio-political confrontations, or triumph over the calamities of war. To have a peaceful, just and philanthropic world, it is necessary to arm ourselves today with spiritual armaments rather than deadly weapons. We must take up the cross and follow the Lord, accomplish the good even when confronted with obstacles, worship the One Who was crucified even to the point of our own crucifixion, to see the stone of disbelief rolled away from the grotto of faith and spirituality.
Peace is the ever-present righteous desire of the soul of man, which will truly become real and unshakeable with the comprehension that all men are brothers in the eyes of our heavenly Father; brothers called to increase the gifts of resurrected life in the world. Through the belief in the presence of God, the soul of man will find ever-renewing strength to reject evil, violence and hatred in our world. Through the love of God and love of neighbor, there will be no place for desecrations of one another?s spiritual treasures or holy relics, which for months have been troubling the world; and the justified cries of distress by thousands of decimated Armenian Khatchkars (Cross-Stones) in Nakhichevan will be heard ? Khatchkars which were ancient cultural treasures, eternal solemn prayers and testimonies of love toward God and men. On this cherished day of Easter, we pray for God to strengthen men and the will of people with His Spirit of Truth, to condemn the actions, steps and desires that offend another?s spiritual values and tramples on the rights of others; and to always progress toward the light of seeing God, toward the peaceful, fair and charitable world created by God.
Dear pious faithful,
We too were called to see the dawning of the Resurrection of Christ. Hope, joy and the strength of our faith in the Savior gave life to the aspirations of our people and our culture, and guided the course of our history. Passing through genocidal paths, our people always believed in their new resurrected life with Christ, in their own rebirth. The reestablishment of our statehood and the freedom of our people are realities today in Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. On the edges of our homeland and in the Diaspora, all our people live with new hopes, aspirations and faith, which for centuries has been unceasingly and without shadows dispersed from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin ? from the ?altars of light? of our churches. May our faith and hope in Christ continue to flow through the arteries of our heart, transforming into the power to build the vigorous and prosperous country dreamed of by our fathers, to keep our national-ecclesiastical life vibrant, to ignite the lights of the future, as well as to support and help all on the paths of realizing desires for peace, liberty and justice.
From the See of the Apostles Saint Thaddeus and Saint Bartholomew, and the Throne of the Illuminator, with brotherly love we greet on this Easter Sunday His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia; His Beatitude Torkom Manoogian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem; and His Beatitude Mesrob Mutafyan, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople. We extend our Pontifical blessings to the entire ranks of our oath-bound clergy and to all our beloved people.
With the love of Christ, we greet the spiritual heads of our Sister Churches, asking for the bountiful graces of the Savior to descend on the Christ-loving flock entrusted to them.
We greet the President of the Republic of Armenia Robert Kocharian, President of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh Arkady Ghukasian, high ranking state officials of the Armenians, those in the fields of arts, education and science, vigilant public and political advocates and the courageous soldiers and servicemen defending our homeland.
We extend our Pontifical blessings and best wishes to the representatives of diplomatic missions credentialed in Armenia, through whose labors the good relationships between our countries are being strengthened and reinforced.
Our faith and our hope to walk with a new life are renewed by the rays of Christ?s Holy Resurrection. Let us pray in unity for God to guide men and peoples to fortify peace, justice, and the paths of love and fraternity ? paths leading always to renewing, reborn and resurrected life. May the Lord keep and protect our Armenian nation ? in Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora ? in unity, strengthened in faith, in the name of the everlasting glory of the All-Holy Trinity ? the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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