25th Anniversary of Establishment of the Volunteer 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade in the Mother See
28.11.2017
On November 28, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the Volunteer 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade was held. The brigade was formed on November 28, 1992 and participated in the Artsakh War.
On this occasion, a Special Prayer Service was held in the Mother Cathedral, which was attended by Mr. Ara Babloyan, President of the National Assembly of Armenia; Mr. Artak Davtyan, Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia; Lieutenant-General Manvel Grigoryan, President of the Yerkrapah Volunteers Union (YVU); representatives of the State Council of Elders; Mr. Karen Grigoryan, Mayor of Etchmiadzin; Members of the YVU Central Board; 5th Brigade volunteers, and youth volunteers.
Led by the Catholicos of All Armenians, the attendees prayed for the peace and security of the Armenian world, secured homeland borders, and tireless spirit of brave Armenian soldiers. The clergy also raised a prayer for the peace of the souls of the Armenian soldiers killed during the heroic Artsakh war.
During the service His Grace Bishop Arshak Khachatryan, Chancellor of Mother See gave remarks.
“Today, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; we are all united in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the Volunteer 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade, which was formed during the struggle for independence and the Artsakh war. The Artsakh liberation war and the establishment of Armenian independence are simply rejecting death and establishing life. The lives of the 5th brigade fighters were dedicated to the realization of these cherished ideas.
Speaking on the formation of this group of volunteers means to survive the last heroic events of the Armenian liberation struggle. Remembering the formation of the 5th Brigade, means reviving the victorious spirit of the 90s, a spirit that does not know fear, a spirit that rejects death, eliminates distrust, a spirit that is inspired by God. Despite the pains and losses, our soul is renewed with the delight of victory and with the delight of victory over death. Our war is not over yet, however. It is true that life is a struggle. This is what Christ says: “I came to set fire on earth” (Luke 12:40). This is the flame of love against hate, this is the flame of peace against war, this is the flame of solidarity against unrest and finally this is the flame of life against death. This flame cannot be extinguished, you cannot deny this flame.
Devoting oneself to the temptation of division, looking for enemies among friends, to reject the authorities and discredit, oppress, humiliate, and ignore the deprived; means to weaken the flame of our life and the light of our path.
Our sons devoted their lives so that we might live, devoted their lives so that we could live in peace, to live with our identity, speak in our language, live in our faith, keep our traditions and lifestyle, devote ourselves to our country, church, and sacred values. This is how Armenia will live and so will the Armenian people overcome death”, stated Bishop Arshak.
Congratulating everyone on the occasion of the 5th Brigade's anniversary, Bishop Arshak also expressed his honor to the soldiers and military who died for Armenian independence.
Congratulating General-lieutenant Manvel Grigoryan, Hero of Artsakh and Commander of the 5th Volunteer Brigade, His Grace Bishop Arshak Khachatryan then invited the Catholicos of All Armenians to bless the devoted Armenian soldiers
Blessing everyone with the “Protector” prayer, Catholicos Karekin II conveyed his congratulations to everyone. The Armenian Patriarch wished that the courage and bravery of the Armenian Army volunteers be an inspiration to all the children of the nation, in particular, for the soldiers of the Armenian army, in order to bring about peace in the homeland, and that the centuries-old dreams of the Armenian people will be realized and ensure a secure and prosperous life of the nation.
