Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

Dearly beloved Armenian people in Armenia, Artsakh and the Dispersion,

The joy of the Glorious Resurrection of Christ fills Armenian Churches this morning, and from the 1,700 year-old Main Altar of the Mother Cathedral of the Armenians, We proclaim to you with Pontifical love, the Easter greeting “Christ is Risen from the dead!”

It was a Sunday morning such as this, when in Jerusalem, the Mother of Christ accompanied by pious women, according to custom, went to the sepulcher to anoint with oil the body of Christ placed there three days before.  Arriving at the rock-hewn tomb, they observed with wonder that the large stone closing the entrance had been rolled away.  The voice of the angel resounded to the bewildered souls of the oil-bearing women, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, for He has risen.”

On that day which bore the good news, grace and blessing renewed the universe and the hope of salvation became the path.  From that day, everyone who hears the angelic-voiced tiding of “Christ is Risen from the dead”, who acknowledges Christ with faith, knows that the tomb is only the end of earthly life – but the beginning of resurrected eternal life.

Eternal life begins in this world, when the progress of man on earth is led with faith and love toward God; toward the Savior Lord Who became flesh out of His Divine Love, and came to the world for the sake of our salvation, destroyed death on the cross, and granted us life through His Resurrection.

“By faith to know Him” the Apostle of the Lord exhorts us, because it is faith that makes the presence of the Resurrected Christ recognizable in our lives, transfigures our souls, and fortifies our journeys towards goodness.  From faith is born the love which ties us to God, and the love which establishes brotherhood between men, so that resurrection and life will prevail in our labors, and we will have peace and reconciliation among ourselves and with God.

Through Apostolic preaching, our forefathers came to know and love the Savior.  They believed that the hope and strength of the Resurrection is a promise to our “small flower bed” of people as well, that the Savior addressed His promise to us, when He said to His Disciples, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  (Luke 12:32).  We lived in the confidence of the word of the Lord, we withstood the countless afflictions which befell us, through life we conquered the pathways of death.  Our soul, bearing the reflection of the Resurrection, was sealed upon our soil, stones and monasteries, our manuscripts and music; and the hymns glorifying our Lord never ceased emanating from our lips.  Indeed, glory and thanksgiving to the Heavenly One, Who through His redeeming Cross, granted us our victorious spiritual armament – the Holy Faith of the Illuminator; and through the new awakening of the same power, ties us to our promised land, and that which stands in her heart, the Holy of Holies, the Only- Begotten Descended Cathedral.

Dearly Beloved Armenian People, the long paths of our crucifixion have ended with the morning of the Resurrection, and it is the new dawn of the hope of the Resurrection in our free Motherland and our national life.  Gazing to heaven on this Easter morning, we see the gates of God’s compassion open before us, a new invitation for resurrected life calls to us – to strengthen our individual lives with faith and to renovate and rebuild our collective life.  We have difficulties, and we will have the strength and power to overcome them as well.  Let us look upon our rocks which have become stone-crosses, the domes of our Armenian churches which soar to the skies, and they will speak to us through the lips of our fathers, telling and directing us to be unified for the love of a free homeland and under the all-powerful arms of the Holy Cross; and our solidarity will be our strength.  Today, independent Armenia and Artsakh, more than anything else, need peace; they need our dedication and devoted efforts.  Let us build our home, our village, our city, and our churches on our soil; not only with stones brought from the mountains of our homeland, but also with the love of God which dwells in our hearts, with the legacy of our fathers and the inspiration of our history.  Our homeland will grow stronger with our own hands, and will become the land of the realization of our hopes.  With every good morning, let us bless the day which is beginning in our free lives, let us bless with faith and loyalty, and with the confidence of our awakened soul, let us build the prosperous present-day of the Armenians and the vision of the future, which get their light from the inextinguishable Lantern of the Illuminator.

Dear Son and Daughter of the Armenian Nation, who has migrated from the homeland and was born in distant lands, it is our Pontifical prayer and wish before the Holy Altar of Descent, that the light of the Glorious Resurrection of the Savior bring rebirth to your Christian faith and renew your oath to remain Armenian.  Remain loyal to our Apostolic Holy Church, sacredly preserve your legacy and transmit it to your children, and do not forget that in one corner of your homeland the graves of your forefathers await your return.

Wherever we may live, dear Armenian people, whether in the Motherland or far from her, let our soul flourish with the patriotism of being the Children of Ararat, with the strength of the Savior’s triumphant love, and the God of our Fathers will lead us to new victories.  Let us vow to remain steadfast children of the Chrism of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Resurrection seal of which is upon our foreheads and we are the adopted of Christ, and our path is “By faith to know Him and the power of His Resurrection”.

With the wondrous tidings of the Holy Resurrection, We convey brotherly greetings from the Mother See of All Armenians to the Incumbents of the Hierarchal Sees of our Church:  to His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia; to His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem; and to His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob Moutafian, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople.  We raise our prayers to the Risen Lord to keep unshaken our Apostolic Holy Church with Her Hierarchal Sees, and to protect within His Divine Grace the entire vow-abiding clerical order and all of our beloved faithful people.

We bring Our Pontifical greeting and blessing to the state leaders of Armenia, headed by President of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Robert Kocharian; and with the hope of the recognition of the right of self-determination for Artsakh, to the President of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh, Mr. Arkady Ghukasian; and to all those who strive for the victory of the just cause of Artsakh.

With the joy of the good tidings of this morning, We greet and bless the Representatives of the Diplomatic Missions registered in Armenia.

Dear faithful, before the luminous mystery of the Glorious Resurrection of Christ, let us pray together and ask:  Lord, You Who are the Sun of Justice and the Prince of Peace, enter into the hearts of men through the all-sustaining power of Your Resurrection, grant solace to the bereaved, happiness to the sorrowful, consolation to the mourning, love and reunion to those separated from one another, and encouragement and bravery to those fearful of tribulations.  May Your greeting of Peace spread throughout the whole of the world, especially to those regions of our common home, planet earth – where peaceful and stable life is threatened, and man’s faith in tomorrow is shaken.

May the hope, grace and blessing of the Resurrection be with us and the world, today and forever.  Amen.

Christ is Risen from the dead!

Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ.

 KAREKIN II
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS