Michael Daniel Findikyan
By decision of the synod of bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church, under the auspices of His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos of All Armenians and His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, the countless martyrs of the Genocide of the Armenians will be formally recognized as martyrs and canonized as saints of the Armenian Church on April 23, 2015. The official declaration of canonization reads as follows:
We, Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians and Aram I Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, by the gracious power of the Holy Trinity given by the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the authority granted to the holy apostles of Armenia Thaddeus and Bartholomew, by the intercession of the Holy Mother of God and the second enlightener of the Armenians, St. Gregory the Illuminator, by decision of the synod of bishops and by the testimony of the Christian life of our people—We will canonize the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide and we declare April 24 to be the Commemoration of the Holy Martyrs who gave their lives during the Genocide of the Armenians for faith and for the homeland.
And now, Holy Martyrs, remembering you eternally, in prayerful supplication, we appeal to you: Receive our prayers and intercede for us so that we too, with fearless love, may also continually glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
For the first time in hundreds of years the Armenian Church will officially add saints to her register of holy men and women. The Church believes that, unlike the dead who are asleep until the second coming of Jesus Christ, the saints are alive, enjoying God’s eternal presence in heaven. Faithful Christians look to the saints and martyrs with hope and joy because by the unshakable faith that they manifested during their earthly lives, they become witnesses to the truth of the Gospel and to the eternal promises Jesus Christ has made to those who follow him.
After 100 years, the recognition by the Armenian Church, through our faith in the Cross of Jesus Christ, that a glimmer of divine light shines forth from that unforgettable atrocity marks a major turning point in the history of the Armenian Church, and the source of enormous hope and abundant blessings for her people.
WHAT ARE SAINTS?
The words “saint” and “holy” are alternate English translations of one and the same Armenian word սուրբ / soorp. The two English words express one reality. St. Paul uses the word soorp to refer to all followers of Jesus Christ. They enjoy the extraordinary dignity of having become God’s beloved children. Any time one encounters the word “saint” in the Holy Scriptures, one can rightly substitute “follower of Jesus Christ” or “member of the Body of Christ” or “member of the Church.”
The Apostle Paul addresses his first letter to the Christians of the city of Corinth this way— To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 1:2-3)
In the first place, therefore, “the saints” are members of the Church. They are “sanctified” (a word that derives from the Latin word for “holy,” sanctus). This means that the saints have become beneficiaries of God’s healing and eternal salvation. The saints are people who “call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” They recognize Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, and therefore they look to him as the ultimate authority in life. For this reason the saints open their hearts and minds to him in prayer and worship, trusting that he will provide for their every need. For the Armenian Church and all ancient churches (Orthodox and Catholic), it is in baptism that a person is consecrated or dedicated to God. When a person is baptized that person becomes a member of the church—the Body of Christ (Ephesians 5:23-24)—and sets out on the life-long path of following Jesus Christ. As followers or disciples of Jesus Christ, we seek to come to know God and to discover God’s love for us.
As we attend to that vocation, we grow to trust and to love God. We grow in faith. For St. Paul, such people become “sanctified” through an intimate bond with Jesus Christ called “communion.”
As we attend to that vocation, we grow to trust and to love God. We grow in faith. For St. Paul, such people become “sanctified” through an intimate bond with Jesus Christ called “communion.”
We should always remember that strictly speaking, only God is holy. Only God is a “saint.”
We confirm this every time we celebrate the Badarak when we sing— Միայն սուրբ. միայն տէր. Յիսուս Քրիստոս ի փառս Աստուծոյ հօր. Ամէն։
Meeayn soorp. Meeayn Der. Heesoos Kreesdos ee pars Asdoodzo Hor. Amen.
Only one is holy. Only one is Lord: Jesus Christ, in the glory of God the Father. Amen
Consequently, if any human being is to be considered soorp, it can only be by the grace of God. No human being can earn his way to sainthood. Sanctity is a gift, not a conquest. One can only be considered a saint because through communion with Jesus Christ, God shares his divine holiness with that person. The special community of people consecrated to Jesus Christ and enjoying communion with him are the “saints” that St. Paul speaks about.
Very early the Church came to reserve the title “saint” for those men and women who showed themselves to be exceptional examples of holiness and faith. Today we bestow the title soorp on the true heroes of Christianity, men and women like St. Gregory the Illuminator, St. Vartan, St. Hripsimé, St. Nersess the Grace-filled and numerous others, whose unwavering faith in, and devotion to Jesus Christ and to the godly life he typified are conspicuous and undeniable.
The saints therefore become paramount witnesses to the truth of God’s Word, the truth of Jesus Christ, and the truth of the Christian faith. A witness is called to a court of law to testify to what he or she knows and has seen. Witnesses may not lie. Nor may they offer opinions, intuitions or second-hand information. None of this is admissible in a court of law. A lawyer prepares a strong case by finding reliable witnesses, whose testimony is convincing and undeniable.
This is precisely the importance of the saints. They are witnesses who provide the strongest possible testimony to the truth of what we believe as Christians. Their extraordinary faith and devotion to Jesus Christ are manifested in how they lived their lives. When we study the lives of the saints of the Church, our own faith is strengthened. In the saints we have proof positive that the Christian faith is true.
The Armenian Church venerates hundreds of saints by name and innumerable others in broad categories (the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia, the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia, the 1036 soldiers and priests martyred at the Battle of Avarayr, and others). In addition to martyrs, the Armenian Church venerates monks, hermits and nuns; patriarchs and church leaders; vartabeds (teachers of 3 the faith); apostles, prophets and other Biblical figures, confessors (who suffered but did not die for the faith) and even angels.
WHAT ARE MARTYRS?
The first Christian saints acknowledged by the church were the martyrs. There are several Armenian words for “martyr.” The word մարտիրոս / mardeeros is a borrowing from the Greek word marteeros. A more authentic Armenian word for “martyr” is նահակակ / nahadag. Even more expressive is the word vgah, which means “witness” (see above). Christian martyrs are those men and women who demonstrated such certainty of faith in Jesus Christ that they were not afraid to die. In this way they became witnesses to the truth of Jesus’ promise to raise to new life those who come to know him and follow him.
This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day. [John 6:40]
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. [Romans 8:11]
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
[1Cointhians 15:12-20] The first Christian martyr was Jesus Christ himself. At the very heart of the Christian faith is the conviction that at a certain time God the Father sent his Son into this fallen world to heal it by becoming a human being through birth to Mary the Mother of God and by experiencing himself the fullness of human life. The fullness of human life includes especially our travails, suffering and dysfunctions. Jesus the Savior redeemed the world by entering the human condition and identifying himself completely with it, to the point of death. As the famous Biblical hymn affirms— Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2:5-11].
Jesus Christ the Son of God “emptied himself” fully and died. On the third day he rose from the tomb, thereby triumphing over death and evil. In so doing he became the ultimate witness to God’s eternal power, over which no pain, no injustice, no fear, not even death itself can prevail.
I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39]
The martyrs are those people who, in the face of death, imitate Jesus Christ in the certain conviction that no power, no affliction, not even death can separate us from the divine and eternal life that God has promised to those who love him. Martyrs imitate Jesus’ complete and total surrender to God’s loving care.
The Armenian Church commemorates many martyrs who possessed such single-minded faith. Although St. Gregory our Illuminator did not die for his Christian faith, he was savagely tortured before being imprisoned in a deep underground cavern for fourteen years. One of the earliest writings in the Armenian language, the history of the Armenians written by a certain Agatangelos, tells how the pagan King Drtad tried unsuccessfully to compel St. Gregory to abandon his Christian faith and to worship a pagan idol. In a long exchange between the two men, the King alternately bribes Gregory with gifts, and then threatens him with torture and death in order to convince him to renounce Jesus Christ. At one point Gregory displays his unwavering, saintly Christian faith and determination even in the face of death when he answers
the King, saying— By removing me from this life you will merely increase for me the joy of Christ that has been prepared for me. His majesty is eternal, his kingdom passes not away, and his blessings do not fail. And instead of the dishonor that you promise in place of honor, you will grant me the honor of the angels, who joyously praise their creator. And as for your saying “instead of elevation to high rank I shall cast you into prison and chains,” I would be blessed to accept the example of my Lord’s chains. And with him I would be happy and rejoice in the day of his coming…And as for your threatening me with death, you will merely join me to the band of Christ, where all those are called, the fathers and the saints, the prophets and the apostles, the martyrs and all the elect.
We all know the end of the story. St. Gregory was mercilessly tortured and imprisoned. His life was spared only after his prayers resulted in the miraculous healing of the King’s ghastly illness.
But if St. Gregory is not classified as a martyr, his audacious response to the Drtad’s threats confirms his unqualified faith. His personal knowledge and intimate experience of Jesus Christ is so vivid and real that St. Gregory becomes a witness for us of the Savior, the Son of God. St. Gregory knew Jesus. He felt his presence. He felt as close to the Lord as a woman feels to her husband or a mother, her child.
THE POWER OF CHRISTIAN MARTYRDOM
Let us look more concretely at the phenomenon of martyrdom. We hear of a young woman being marched through the deserts of eastern Turkey, her emaciated baby in her arms. At one point a Turkish soldier confronts her at knifepoint. He demands that she renounce Jesus Christ or die.
She resolutely refuses to abdicate her faith, saying, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and my God.” Enraged, the soldier grabs her child, throws him on the ground and plunges his bayonet into her chest.
Appalling incidents like this one are all too common in the memory of the Armenians. What are we to make of this woman? Assuming the story is actually historically accurate, there are only two possible explanations. First, the woman must have truly believed to the depths of her being in the truth of what the Church has always preached about Jesus Christ; she knew deeply and really that God is the source of all existence in this life and beyond; that Jesus Christ has divine power so mighty that it even triumphs over sin, evil, injustice and death. This woman must have had a deep and bona fide sense of God’s presence that was so strong that she could face certain death without fear.
The only other possible explanation for this woman’s radical behavior is that she was simply mad. She was a suicidal fanatic. No one of sane mind willingly sacrifices her life and that of her child for the sake of thin air.
Here is the power of Christian martyrdom. Surely there are and have been lunatics who have given their lives for a fantasy. But there are many martyrs who can by no means be considered to have been crazy. Indeed, the Church recalls and salutes many of them. These were people of wisdom, integrity, and above all Christian faith, whose unimpeachable character was acknowledged by many people who knew them and preserved their memory. These are the true martyrs who present the closest thing we can have to the assurance of the truth of our faith. It is that assurance that is our precious inheritance from all of the church’s martyrs. This is the priceless legacy of the new martyrs of the Genocide: authentic, tangible, indisputable witness and testimony to the reality of God and His boundless, eternal love for us.
WHO ARE THE NEW MARTYRS?
The Armenian Church will canonize “the holy martyrs who gave their lives for faith and for the homeland during the Armenian Genocide.” No specific names will be mentioned nor will a fixed number of martyrs be defined. It goes without saying that we cannot assume that each and every one of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide (even that number is only an estimate) truly sacrificed his or her life in imitation of Jesus Christ and in complete faith in the resurrection of the dead. On the other hand, we know with absolute certainty that countless Armenian men and women were given the opportunity to spare their lives in return for renouncing their
Christian faith and accepting Islam—and they chose martyrdom, so sure were they in the eternal and irrevocable protection of Jesus Christ.
Out of 1.5 million victims how many were true Christian martyrs? Thousands? Surely. Tens of thousands? Likely. Hundreds of thousands? Quite possibly. The Armenian Church will acknowledge these martyrs even though we do not know the names or precise circumstances of each one. God knows who they are and for us that is sufficient.
Of course we do know the names and circumstances of hundreds of our Genocide martyrs, specifically the clergy. Short accounts of the lives, and in many cases of the martyrdom, of over 1000 Armenian clergy who perished during the Genocide were compiled in 1921 by a Genocide survivor named Teotos Lapchinian, usually known as Teotig. His monumental work (written in Armenian) is entitled Golgotha of the Armenian Clergy and its Flock: The Devastating Year 1915. The Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center of the Eastern Diocese is currently translating many of these “martyrs’ acts” and will distribute them widely so that we may all be
edified by the Christian faith of our ancestors. In the century following the Genocide, scores of survivors’ stories have been published, many of which contain accounts of martyrdom. It is anticipated that in the coming years these martyrs’ acts will be collected and will become a source of inspiration to strengthen the faith of our people.
ARE MY GRANDPARENTS OR GREAT GRANDPARENTS WHO DIED DURING THE GENOCIDE NOW SAINTS?
If they were committed, prayerful Christians, they likely are, though only God knows for sure. Jesus Christ is the only Judge of souls and bodies. In any case, sanctity runs through the veins of all Armenians. The Genocide was only the Armenians’ most recent and most gruesome invitation to martyrdom. We are a compact and robust race. Just as two Armenians meeting at a coffee shop, after just a few minutes of conversation, will inevitably discover that they are relatives, in the same way the great saints and martyrs of the Armenian Church—St. Gregory the Illuminator, St. Mesrob Mashdots, St. Nersess the Gracious—are our blood relatives. The awareness that our ancestry contains great saints should inspire us to live more godly and Christlike
lives, whether those saints are far removed from us in time, martyrs of the Genocide, or perhaps alive in our homes and churches today.
HOW DOES THE CHURCH COMMEMORATE ITS MARTYRS AND SAINTS?
As a result of their extraordinary importance for the vitality of our faith, the martyrs and saints are regularly recalled and celebrated in the liturgical life of the church. In the Armenian Church nearly 400 saints and martyrs are commemorated annually by name, on a designated day or days. From the earliest times Saturday was set apart by the Armenian Church and other eastern churches to pay tribute to the martyrs. Although outside the monasteries and hierarchical centers we have lost the custom, traditionally the Divine Liturgy is celebrated every Saturday in honor of
the martyrs. Nothing could be more appropriate than celebrating the great Sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Badarak means “sacrifice”), his triumph over death, and his promise of eternal life to honor those men and women that imitated him in death and who, raised to life, are today seated in his presence.
At every Badarak we recall the martyrs several times, including the deacons’ proclamation— That the holy apostles, prophets, doctors, martyrs and all holy patriarchs, apostolic bishops, presbyters, orthodox deacons and all the saints be remembered in this holy sacrifice, we beseech the Lord.
Առաքելոց սրբոց, մարգարէից, վարդապետաց, մարտիրոսաց եւ ամենայն հայրեպետաց սրբբոց, առաքելագործ եպիսկոպոսց, երիցանց, ուղղափառ սարկաւագաց եւ ամենայն սրբոց. եղիցի յիշատակ ի սուրբ պատարագս աղաչեմք։
Arakelots srpots, markareyeets, vartabedats, mardeerosats yev amenayn hayrabedats srpots, arakelakordz yebeesgobosats, yereetstants, ooghapar sargavakats yev amenayn srpots yegheetsee heeshadag ee soorp Badaraks aghachemk.
To this the choir leads the people in responding— Remember them Lord, and have mercy on them.
Յիշեա տէր եւ ողորմեա
Heeshya Der yev voghormya.
Notice that the deacon calls on the people to remember the saints (“[let] all the saints be remembered…”) and the people call on the Lord to remember them (“Remember them Lord…”).
All of this “remembering” is not a grand exercise in nostalgia. It is a summons for the entire Body of Christ (the Church) joined to its head (Jesus the Lord) to recall that the martyrs and saints are participants in our liturgy. They are co-worshippers with us.
At every Badarak we recall the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen (Acts 7:54-60), as well as the very first Christians who gave their lives for the sake of Jesus Christ on Armenian soil. These were a first-century circle of Syrian hermits and priests that were followers of St. Thaddeus the Apostle: St. Sookias and St. Voski and their companions (Սուքիասեանք / Sookiasiank, Ոսկեանք / Vosgiank).
Even more imposing is the commemoration of the saints that takes place during the Morning Service (Առաւօտեան ժամ / Aravodyan Zham) every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (except for Great Lent and other fasting periods, as well as the period from Easter to Ascension). The Morning Service for these days is replete with festive hymns and acclamations of the saints. The Armenian Church’s Book of Hymns, the Sharagnots (Շարակնոց) contains literally hundreds of hymns dedicated to the martyrs. Some are original compositions by Armenian theologian-musicians, while many more were translated very early from Greek and other ancient Christian languages. The so-called “Martyrs’ Hymns” (մարտիրոսաց շարականք / mardeerosats sharagank) sing the praise of the martyrs for their valorous faith in Jesus Christ.
Many of the hymns actually speak to the martyrs, while others are prayers addressed to the Son of God, asking him to answer our prayers, give us the strength to live the godly life of the martyrs and to make us worthy of their steadfast faith in him. Here is just one of the hundreds of martyrs’ hymns: They surrendered themselves to you, Father, and they were crucified with your Son—by their prayers, raise us to life.
They purified their bodies to be temples for you, and they became dwelling places of the Holy Trinity—by their prayers, raise us to life.
They exchanged their lives for you, and they became heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven— by their prayers, raise us to life.
Toward the end of the Morning Service on martyrs’ days the priest chants the Litany of the Saints, with its exquisite melody and impassioned plea that the holiness of the saints may bringGod’s blessings to us frail humans. After listing the Armenian Church’s most cherished saints, the priest prays— Loving Lord, through the intercession, memory and prayers of the holy martyrs (here the martyr or martyrs designated for commemoration that day are named), whom we commemorate today, grant us the gift of peace and of your great mercy.
One large section of the Sunrise Service (Արեւագալ / Arevakal), which we are accustomed to praying during Lent, is dedicated to the martyrs. It features the beautiful hymn Juknavork / Ճգնաւորք:
Hermits of God and heirs of the heavenly kingdom, you traded temporary things for permanent blessings. Intercede with the Lord for the children of the church.
Sublime witnesses, beloved of the heavenly Father, in your blood you were baptized with Christ into death on the Cross. Intercede with the Lord for the children of the church.
Coveted martyrs and dwelling places for the Spirit of Truth, you triumphed in the Spirit over torments and desires. Intercede with the Lord for the children of the church.
Praised by the world and desired by the heavenly powers, you achieved a greater portion of blessedness than any human being. Intercede with the Lord for the children of the church. Eager sacrifices, tender-aged children mature in wisdom, instead of milk you drank the delightful wine. Intercede with the Lord for the children of the church.
Other commemorations of the saints and martyrs are less familiar in parish life. The hierarchical centers (and formerly the monasteries) possess relics of the saints. Encased in bejeweled reliquaries and monstrances (ճաճանչ / jajanch), the bones and other remains of a saint are taken out of hidden treasuries and vaults on that saint’s designated day and displayed for the faithful to see and venerate. The Armenian Cathedrals of Holy Etchmiadzin and of Saints James in Jerusalem hold dozens of ancient relics of the saints. St. Vartan Cathedral in New York has enshrined a bone of an unknown Genocide martyr from Deir-Zor, Syria, the tragic endpoint of the deportations, in a corner to the right as one enters the Cathedral.
While the veneration of martyrs’ relics may seem gruesome at first, it is only a reflection of the truly gruesome tortures and death that they suffered, and the depth of faith that they possessed. The martyrs’ suffering and death may be triumphant and saintly, but it is never pretty.
It reminds us of the gruesome suffering of the Son of God, by means of which, we believe, mysteriously, redemption comes to humanity. The relics serve as a tangible and provocative reminder to us that the Son of God requires total, loving surrender from his children: “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25).
Another aspect of the veneration of the saints is the reading of the Haysmavoork, the massive book containing the stories of the saints and martyrs. Over the centuries the Church has collected detailed accounts of the lives, miracles, achievements, and often the martyrdom of her cherished saints. On a particular saint’s day, it was the custom in the monasteries for a priest or deacon to ascend a high pulpit in the church, and to read the life of that saint to the congregation before the start of the Evening Service. Every saint’s story begins, Յայսմ աւուր / Haysm avoor, which means, “On this day…” giving the book its title. The Haysmavoork contains the stories of hundreds of additional saints, most of them non-Armenian, who do not have an annual day of
commemoration designated for them in the church’s calendar.
PUTTING IN A GOOD WORD: THE INTERCESSION OF THE SAINTS
At the heart of all of the ancient churches’ veneration of the saints and martyrs is the intercession of the saints. If the saints are alive, fully sharing heavenly life with God, as Christians have maintained from the beginning, then it follows that they are praying for us. If a holy man or woman was blessed during his earthly life to cultivate a deep-seated faith and a life of unceasing prayer, why should that predilection change once that person transitions to God’s Kingdom?
What else would a saint do in God’s presence but pray for the earthly siblings she has left behind?
The Armenian word for this concept is much more evocative than the technical term
“intercession.” Parekhosootyoon / բարեխօսութիւն literally means “good speech,” or “putting in a good word.” That is precisely what we ask the saints to do for us. As human beings, they lived in this world just as we do, and they witnessed the good, the bad and the truly depraved of human life. Now, graduated to God’s presence, they naturally pray for the healing of this world, which was the place of their birth. Indeed, this was historically one of the most primitive and earliest instincts of Christians everywhere. We have very early references in East and West to Christians appealing to the saints to intercede—to put in a good word—with Christ for us. And we trust that they do this lovingly.
This is not at all to suggest that our own prayers, feeble and few as they may be, do not reach the Lord’s ear apart from the saints’ mediation. Jesus himself reminded us always of the power of our own prayer, whether uttered together with Christ’s Body in the liturgy of the church or offered in the secrecy of our room behind closed doors. In point of fact, however, we welcome the saints’ intercession just as anyone seeking the support of a superior would welcome the intercession of a trusted colleague who “has the ear” of the boss.
Whether it is in the litanies and intercessions of the Badarak, the Morning Service’s Grand Litany of the Saints, or the hymns and prayers of most every service of the Armenian Church, our liturgy is replete with fervent requests that the saints speak with the Lord on our behalf.
The very first words of the Badarak profess our expectation that St. Mary the Mother of God will intercede with her Son, our God, to take our worship and prayers to heart:
Lord, through the intercession of the Holy Mother of God, receive our supplications and raise us to life.
Վասն սրբուհւոյ Աստուածածնին բարեխօսութեանն, Տէր, ընկալ զաղաչանս մեր եւ կեցո ըզմեց։ Vasun surpoohvo Asdvadazadzneen parekhosootyanun Der ungal zaghachanus mer yev getso uzmez.
Moments later, as the priest and altar servers process around the church offering incense, we sing: Through the intercession of your virgin Mother accept the supplications of your servants, O Christ, who with your blood has made your holy Church more resplendent than the heavens…
Բարեխօսութեամբ մօր քո եւ կուսի ընկալ զաղաչանս քոց պաշտօնէից, որ գերագոյն քան զերկինս պայծառացուցեր սուրբ զեկեղեցին արեամբ քով Քրիստոս…
Parekhosootyamp mor ko yev goose ungal zaghachans kots bashdoneyeets, vor kerakooyn kan zergeenus baydzaratsootser soowrb zegeghetseen aryamp kov Kreesdos…
Whether as a church or as individual prayerful Christians, when we open the eyes of our heart to the reality of the Mother of God, the martyrs, and the entire “communion of saints,” recognizing their godly virtues and the rewards they enjoy now in heaven, and asking for their continuous intercession, then we align ourselves with them and speed our passage to the heavenly harbor that they have attained.
PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD – HOKEHANKEESD
We believe that the martyrs are not dead but alive and in the precious company of God. They have reached their eternal reward and no longer have any need for our prayers. Consequently, the Armenian Church will no longer offer Hokehankeesd requiem prayers for the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide as a whole. Instead, we will now ask for their intercession with the Lord for our needs, just as we routinely ask for the intercession of Mary the Mother of God, John the Baptist, Gregory our Illuminator and all the saints during the Divine Liturgy and other services of the church.
However, the martyrs of the Genocide are being canonized as a group and not as individuals.
Only God in heaven knows their names and exact number. Therefore, those who wish to offer requiem prayers for individual deceased loved ones who perished during the Genocide may do so and the church will continue to offer Hokehankeesd for them by name.
Let us not forget that the requiem prayers we offer are not only for the sake of the dead but also—maybe more so—for us who are still alive. When we pray for the dead we are of course appealing for the forgiveness of the deceased person’s sins and for his or her eternal salvation.
We do this in response to the Lord’s promise to us that “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Praying to almighty God for the sake of our loved ones who have left this earthly life is one of the most natural instincts of Christian life. When faced with the death of one we love, we naturally turn to God for consolation and hope.
At the same time, whenever the Church turns to the Lord in prayer out of love and concern for our deceased, we rehearse our faith in the power and readiness of Jesus Christ to raise the dead. We are reminded that “with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37) and the anxiousness we feel concerning our own inevitable death and that of our loved ones is quieted. So like all prayers, our Hokehankeesd Requiem Prayers also function as exercises and professions of our faith.
ONLY GOD CREATES SAINTS
The church does not create saints, God does. Canonization is rather the Church’s official recognition that a certain person or group of persons is already a saint; that that person or group truly epitomizes the highest virtues of Christian life. By declaring someone a “saint” the Church is acknowledging that this person is an example to us of the lives we should lead as Christians.
There are many more saints in heaven than the few hundred that the Armenian Church has officially canonized. Some saints are walking among us today. Of course all of our sister churches have their own registers of saints. The late Pope John Paul II canonized more saints than all of his predecessors combined. He himself was recently canonized a saint by the Catholic Church. Many saints have been recognized by several churches of differing denominations. St. Gregory our Illuminator, for example, is also cherished by the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and Roman Catholic Churches, who know him as “St. Gregory of Armenia.” Pope Francis recently declared our beloved mystic, St. Gregory of Narek (†1004), to be a “doctor of the church.” This exalted title, which is unique to the Catholic Church, has only been bestowed on a few dozen of the Catholic Church’s most esteemed theologians. This was an unexpected and extraordinary declaration with enormous ecumenical implications because St. Gregory of Narek was never in
communion with the Catholic Church.
Other saints were local heroes whose fame never spread beyond their immediate church boundaries. We are accustomed to designating the martyrs and saints known only in Armenia as “national saints” or “Armenian saints,” and distinguishing them from “non-Armenian” or “foreign” saints. This is a helpful distinction to a point. However, we must remember that all saints, regardless of their ethnic heritage or venue, are saints of the Body of Christ, “the one, holy, universal and apostolic Church” that we profess every Sunday in the Nicene Creed. Our newly canonized martyrs of the Armenian Genocide are surely interceding with God in a special way for the Armenian Church and people, the “homeland” by which the new martyrs have been
designated. To be sure, however, they are models of Christian virtue for all mankind and they are indeed interceding for the salvation of the world.
When the Church canonizes saints nothing changes in heaven. What changes is the Church on Earth. Every time a local church recognizes a new saint, it submits to its people and to the world another real-life example of a human being that was able to cultivate a profound love for God and for neighbor by following Jesus Christ. The so-called “communion of the saints” is the Church’s honor roll. By looking at the names and lives of the saints, we perceive the highest ideals of the Church: who we aim to be, what we believe, what our priorities are, and what our mission is. The saints are our witnesses to that ideal, but they should also challenge the Church and every one of its members to grow toward the ideal that they embody. The saints provide a useful gauge for the Church to refine its work and commitments, to reform itself where necessary, in order to remain faithful to its sacred mission.
HOW DOES THE CHURCH CANONIZE SAINTS?
Historically canonization was usually a grass roots process, not a top-down decree of the Church hierarchy. When a Christian exhibited extraordinary holiness, either by one’s godly way of life, through that person’s luminous preaching and teaching, in some notable cases by having worked miracles, or perhaps by martyrdom itself, this was something first observed by those who knew that person most closely: relatives, friends, and townspeople. In the case of the martyrs, they were well known to the local population, who would have witnessed their holiness and their death. The tomb of the martyrs became the focal point for Christians to recall and celebrate that holy life, and to pray for the saint’s intercession. Most of the earliest church buildings in the world were built over the tombs of beloved martyrs. In Rome we have the Basilicas of St. Peter (the Vatican) and St. Paul built over the places where these apostles were martyred. In Armenia we have the magnificent churches in Etchmiadzin built over the tombs of the great martyr-heroes of Armenia’s Christian conversion: St. Hripsimé and St. Gayané.
Veneration of the saints, especially the martyrs, was a natural instinct for the earliest Christians. The formal canonization of the saints by church authorities developed as a means of regulating a form of popular piety that was beginning to take on a life of its own. In some communities individuals were being venerated whose lives fell far short of Jesus’ example. In other places the veneration of the saints competed with, rather than complemented the worship of Jesus Christ. For this reason, well after the turn of the first millennium, the churches began to develop procedures for “canonizing,” literally, for regulating who is and who is not a saint.
The Catholic Church developed a highly legalized and bureaucratic process for determining which holy people nominated by local communities would merit veneration by the entire Catholic Church. Only those officially “canonized” saints would be assigned an annual day of commemoration in the church’s calendar and have hymns, devotional services, and icons created in their honor. The process involved an extensive investigation into every aspect of the candidate’s life, which was undertaken by a dedicated department of the Holy See. It was decreed, among other things, that the candidate must have performed a certain number of verifiable miracles.
Yet the Catholic Church’s complicated and often highly politicized canonization process is unique in Christendom. In the eastern churches the procedures are much less complicated. In general, once the decision to canonize a saint or saints is made by the synod of bishops and confirmed by the Patriarch, a date is set and the new saints are officially proclaimed during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy that day. During this grand Eucharistic celebration, the lives of the saints are read, an official icon is released and newly-composed hymns in honor of the saints are sung.
In the Armenian Church the acknowledgement of new saints may have been even more spontaneous. The process of venerating new saints and martyrs in Armenia seems usually to have been a largely local affair, which very gradually spread throughout all segments of the Church. Centuries-old manuscripts containing the calendar of feasts and saints’ commemorations are often very different one from another. A calendar copied in one region of Armenia contains saints unknown in a calendar from another region of Armenia, or, if known, the saint may be commemorated on a different day. Several medieval Armenian historians tell the stories of valiant Armenian martyrs who gave their lives in faithfulness to Jesus Christ and who were immediately commemorated as saints of the church with an annual commemoration. Yet in time the names of the martyrs were forgotten and their commemorations died out. It was only in the
late 18th century with the printed edition of the Տօնացոյց / Donatsooyts, the Armenian Church’s Directory of Feasts, that Catholicos Simeon of Yerevan brought cohesion and uniformity to the veneration of the saints throughout the expanse of the church. It is only in the last 200 years or so, in other words, that the entire Armenian Church and all of its hierarchical sees, with few exceptions, celebrate the very same saints on the very same day.
WHY HAS THE ARMENIAN CHURCH NOT CANONIZED A NEW SAINT IN OVER 500 YEARS?
The canonization of the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide on April 23, 2015 in Holy Etchmiadzin will be an event of momentous proportions. Both Catholicoses of the Armenian Church will preside over the ceremonies with the participation of most of the world’s Armenian bishops, tens of thousands of faithful and several heads of sister churches from throughout the world including the Pope of Rome. This will be the first time in centuries that the Armenian Church has enjoyed the relative political and ecclesiastical stability and the autonomy to carry out an event of this magnitude and global reach. Until the independence of Armenia in 1991, for centuries even the periodic assemblies to elect a new Catholicos or consecrate the holy myron were only convened with great difficulty.
Nevertheless, it remains a point of fact that neither the Donatsooyts nor the Yaysmavoork contains any individuals from this side of the 16th century. Are we to conclude that God has not given the Armenian people any martyrs or saints in the last 400 years? By no means. Some figures from recent centuries are venerated as saints on a purely local level. Within the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, for example, the great Gregory the ChainBearer (Շղթայակիր / Shughtayageer) is venerated as a saint. This remarkable man was elected Patriarch of the Holy City in the 18th-century, at a time when the Armenian monastery was in financial ruin. Most of the Armenian Quarter was on the verge of confiscation when he assumed the throne of St. James the Apostle. Through radical austerity which he modeled in his own Christ-like life, the Patriarch was able to raise funds not only to win back all of the Armenian Church’s lands, shrines and buildings, but to provide charitable assistance to the poor and indigent, Armenians and non-Armenians alike. As a visible symbol of Christian self-sacrifice, he wore a heavy iron chain around his neck. That chain hangs in the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Apostles James in Jerusalem and is venerated by the clergy and faithful today. Gregory is de facto a saint, but he is little known outside of Jerusalem, and therefore he has not yet been “canonized” by the Armenian Church as a whole. There are other examples of local saints in Jerusalem like the 17th century saintly Patriarch Krikor Baron Der.
So the lack of more contemporary names in the Armenian Church’s register of saints is not due to a lack of sanctity among the Armenians. It is more likely related to a larger period of decline in the Church that dates from about the fall of the Cilician Kingdom in the late 14th century. Squeezed between two hostile Islamic dominions—the Ottoman Empire and the Savafid Persian Empire—the Armenian people, with their Church, had all they could do just to survive. With only a few prominent exceptions, it was a period of cultural and ecclesiastical stagnation. Not only were no new saints declared, but no new hymns added to the Sharagnots / Շարակնոց, nor canons added to the Book of Canons. With few exceptions, the churches built in the homeland during this period were very modest compared to their predecessors from the medieval period. Most devastating was the decline in Armenian monastic life during this period. Taxed to the point of extinction, many monasteries were abandoned, leaving the Armenian Church without the spiritual, theological, educational and cultural factories that traditionally sustained it.
More than other ancient churches, the monasteries were the spiritual and intellectual engine of the Armenian Church. As they declined so did the church as a whole.
Thankfully there are hopeful signs of resurgence in the Armenian Church today and the audacious decision to canonize the Genocide martyrs can only be seen as a giant step in that direction under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
HOW DID THE ARMENIAN CHURCH DECIDE TO CANONIZE THE GENOCIDE MARTYRS?
Beginning around the middle of the twentieth century there were already subtle signs that at least in some quarters the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims was inspiring a measure of hope and holiness. In 1958 His Eminence Abp. Mampre Kalfayan, then Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church, consecrated the new Armenian sanctuary in Bayside, New York in the name “of the Holy Martyrs.” To be sure, even though the Genocide was not explicitly named, Mampre Srpazan was already attributing sanctity to Armenia’s twentiethcentury
martyrs.
In 1989, on eve of the 75th anniversary of the Genocide, Catholicos Vazken I and then Catholicos Karekin II of the Great House of Cilicia (later Karekin I Catholicos of All Armenians) issued a joint statement in which they announced plans to begin initial preparations for the eventual canonization of the Genocide martyrs. Inspired by this announcement, Bishop Zareh Aznavourian (†2004), a gifted theologian and musician from the Cilician Catholicate composed a series of sacred hymns, a complete canon of sharagans, for the holy martyrs of the Genocide. Decades before the fact, this visionary bishop intuited that soon our “April Martyrs” would indeed be recognized as the saints that they truly were. In the preface to the printed edition of his Hymn he wrote:
Հայաստանեայց Առաքելական մեր Եկեղեցին ինչպէս կանխագոյն դարերուն հարուստ եղած է սուրբ զաւակներով, այնպէս ալ սրբութեան վաւերական դրոշմը ունեցող մեծ թիւով վկաներ տուած է նորագոյն ժամանակներուն, մինչեւ մեր օրերեը, ինչպէս աներկբայօրէն այդպիսին են Ապրիլեան մեր Նահատակները։ Եւ եթէ անցնող դարերը ինչ-ինչ պատճառներով շատ թոյլատու չեն եղած ծիսական մակարդակի վրայ կամ եկեղեցւոյ տօնական կարգին մէջ զանոնք իբրեւ այդպիսին ճանչնալու եւ արժանի յիշատակութեամբն պատուելու, Ապրիլեան Նահատակներու պարագային ատոր պահանջը արդէն շատոնց զգացուած էր, ինչպէս տարուէ-տարի կատարուող եկեղեցական մեծաշուք յիւատակի հանդէսները եւ ժողովրդական բարեպաշտութեան արտայայտութիւնները յայտնապէս կը վկայեն։
Just as in the earliest centuries our Armenian Church was blessed with many holy children, likewise in very recent times and up to our own days, she has given many martyrs possessing the authentic seal of holiness. Without a doubt our April Martyrs are among them. And if, for various reasons, during the past decades they could not be recognized as such and honored liturgically, or within the sequence of the Church’s feasts, by means of a suitable commemoration, the need to do so was already felt long ago, as the solemn church memorials conducted year after year and the popular expressions of piety plainly testify.
In 1991 a small but beautiful Armenian Church was built in the town of Deir-Zor, Syria. Under the altar were placed thousands of bones of anonymous Genocide victims who had perished just footsteps away. For years the Badarak was celebrated there for the small local community and especially for countless pilgrims from all over the world who trekked through the barren Syrian desert to pray at this breathtakingly holy shrine (Tragically the church was recently destroyed by Islamic militants). While no official declaration of sainthood had yet been declared, as the decades of the 20th century passed, the holiness of the martyrs was graduallyable to peak through the broken hearts of some survivors and their children.
This faint and diffuse fragrance of holiness was not lost on the Catholicos of All Armenians.
Shortly after his enthronement, His Holiness Karekin II convened a meeting of high-level clergy including delegates of the Catholicate of the Great House of Cilicia to discuss the prospects for canonizing the Genocide martyrs. Subsequent meetings over the years were devoted to studying the matter in depth. By and by, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, initial reluctance on the part of some gave way to a strong consensus in the church’s leadership. On the hundredth anniversary of the deportation and extermination of over 200 Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople on
April 24, 1915, it was decided that the time was the right to acknowledge officially that in the monstrous crime of the Genocide, that ghastly show of injustice and evil, countless Armenian men and women had sacrificed their lives in imitation of Jesus Christ himself.
HOW WILL THE GENOCIDE MARTYRS BE CANONIZED AND COMMEMORATED?
The canonization of the Genocide martyrs will take place on April 23, 2015. The ceremonies will begin with a solemn celebration of the Divine Liturgy presided by the two Catholicoses, dozens of bishops, hundreds of priests and deacons and likely tens of thousands of faithful. All will share in Holy Communion. Later in the day a short service of canonization will take place. A specially-prepared chronicle of the Genocide and its Christian martyrs will be publically read. Then the Catholicoses’ decree of canonization will be proclaimed. Specially selected Psalms and readings from sacred Scripture will be read. Relics of the Genocide martyrs will be displayed and a new sacred icon dedicated to them will be unveiled. The canon of hymns (շարական /sharagan) composed for the martyrs will be sung and prayers will be offered, which ask for the intercession of the new saints. In the coming years April 24 will be dedicated to commemorating the holy martyrs of the Genocide. It is possible that the actual date for the Genocide martyrs may some day be adjusted, since in the ancient tradition of the Armenian Church saints may only be commemorated on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays. In this way Sunday is always entirely dedicated to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and Wednesdays and Fridays are days of fasting, which is incompatible with celebrations. For this reason saints’ commemorations are never assigned to a fixed calendar date.
Be that as it may, on the annual day of the commemoration of the Genocide Martyrs the Armenian Church will henceforth pay tribute to the new saints as it does every other saint of the church: by means of dedicated hymns, litanies and prayers that recall the saints and their example, honor them, and ask for their intercession.
THE HOLY MARTYRS’ WITNESS AND OUR WITNESS
In the poignant closing lines of the decree of canonization, the Catholicoses turn to speak directly to our innumerable, nameless, holy Genocide martyrs:
And now, Holy Martyrs, remembering you eternally, in prayerful supplication, we appeal to you: Receive our prayers and intercede for us so that we too, with fearless love, may also continually glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
In these final words we find the Church’s ultimate hope in canonizing the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. Our Catholicoses pray that every child of the Armenian Church may also be worthy to discover the fearless love (աներկիւղ սէր) with which our martyrs were blessed: a life-creating love for God and for one another that is so potent and vital that all adversity, all fear and all pain vanish in its midst. Yet again we see that the true significance of the holy martyrs of the Genocide and of this centenary year is far more than the worthy memorial of a tragic chapter in one small nation’s history. It is even more noble than the cause of political justice and human rights. In the end, our martyrs dare us to set our sights on an even higher aspiration, a still more noble dignity:
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained accessto this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)
It has taken 100 years for our tears to dry enough so that today the Armenian Church can look back at what happened in the Armenian homeland one hundred years ago and see not just a crime; not just an injustice, a manifestation of evil, and a near-fatal blow to Armenian existence and civilization, but a monumental and unassailable witness to Jesus Christ. In the Genocide God called on the first Christian nation once again “to be crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), and with Christ, to show the world, through the blood of our martyred grandparents and great grandparents, that “by dying he has trampled on death and given us the gift of eternal life.”
Inspired by their example, let us witness ever more sincerely and hopefully to that gracious and vital mystery. To Christ our God be glory forever. Amen.
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