The Feast of Holy Nativity in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
07.01.2003
On January 6, the Armenian Church celebrated the Feast of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The previous evening, on January 5, thousands of faithful participated in the Candlelight Divine Liturgy in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, which ushered in the Great Tiding of Christ's Holy Birth.
The morning of January 6, a Pontifical Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. During the Liturgy, His Holiness Karekin II, proclaiming the Christmastide Good News of "and on earth peace, good will toward men", delivered his message addressed to "the children Our Nation, in Armenia and in Dispersion."
The Pontiff of All Armenians stated, in part: "All through time, the cherished dream of mankind has been peace as a condition for security, prosperity and happiness. Countless theories have been developed, principals proposed, means and efforts invested, all in the name of peace. However, the rumblings of war have not been muted; intrigues, enmity and destruction have not ceased; famine, misery and poverty have not been eliminated; because mankind has not always pursued Christ's message of peace: to implant the triumph of the Gospel of love, freedom and justice in the souls of men."
With the statement and conviction of "Peace bequeathed from Christ is for the world, but not of the world indeed", His Holiness expressed his concerns with the fragile peace of the world, and specifically stressed, "Today, in the Holy Land, instead of hymns of praise for peace, hostility resounds and death-bringing volleys of fire boom. Today, the world restlessly witnesses the horrors of terrorism in different corners of the globe, where wars are spreading destruction and taking away thousands of innocent lives. The wounds on our people's heart from the Armenian Genocide continue to bleed; which still has not been universally condemned by governments, which continues to be an encouragement for new villainies, as was in the case of the Holocaust.
"Our soul today is also troubled by the fragile peace prevailing in the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh, because the opposite side continues resonating frivolous appeals for renewing the war. The core issue of the Armenians living on their historic lands of Artsakh is being led to a deadlock, when it is being connected unjustly and without foundation to the principal of territorial integrity; while the natural, just and legal right of man and nation to live freely is being trampled under foot. Justice will prevail, the thunders of war will be silenced, inter-ethnic antagonisms and public crises will be reconciled, when mankind desires and searches for the Christ-provided redeeming road of peace, more than the world's paths toward peace; and when justice and humane values become the guiding principles for human life."
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the Catholicos of All Armenians conducted the Blessing of the Waters Service, which symbolizes the Baptism of Christ in the River Jordan at the commencement of His ministry.
Present for the Divine Liturgy and the Blessing of the Waters Service were the President of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharian; President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia, Gagik Harutiunian; Minister of Defense, Serj Sargsian; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vardan Oskanian; high-ranking officials of the Armenian government, members of the Supreme Spiritual Council, representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations registered in Armenia, and thousands of faithful.
That same afternoon, an official reception on the occasion of the New Year and Christmas took place in the Residence of the Catholicos.
