Easter Sunday in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
28.03.2005
Resurrected is Christ,
Resurrected is the Armenian Nation. -
His Holiness Karekin II
Easter Sunday in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
On Sunday, March 27, the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ was celebrated by the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church in dioceses, parishes and communities throughout the world.
In Holy Etchmiadzin, the worldwide headquarters of the Armenian Church and the Mother Cathedral of all Armenians, the morning began with the solemn pontifical procession entering the ancient cathedral, where His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, began the celebration of the Pontifical Divine Liturgy on the most significant day of the year.
Assisting His Holiness at the Holy Altar were His Grace Bishop Yeznik Petrossian, Director of Inter-Church Relations, and His Grace Bishop Arshak Khatchatrian, Chancellor of the Mother See.
During the service, His Holiness addressed his message to Armenians throughout the world on the occasion of Holy Easter, where he noted:
" . . . Resurrected is Christ! Sin has been expiated upon the cross. Irreversible hopelessness and fear, like the chains of death, have forever been shattered. Life is emanating from the tomb and the all-conquering hope of salvation and everlasting life are shining. God is wondrously glorified and glorified is man, because Christ submitted Himself to the cross and was resurrected, so that life stained through human sin be renewed and restored in its aim, in its true course towards God. . . . Christ brought to man the perfect example of filial obedience to the Will of the Heavenly Father, declaring that mankind's highest aspiration is to choose the providential and saving Will of God.
"Indeed, dear ones, through the choice of the Will of God, mankind will be able to reject and prevent Der-Zor and Holocaust, reject and prevent September 11 and Beslan, to see paths free of wars and violence, and to find the just and luminous fraternal avenues among nations. Hope is alive upon those roads, the hope of life, progress and the future. Today and always, the opportunities of man, his choices and decisions, shall be directed to the care of the world and humanity, just as the Creator's Fatherly care is towards His creation. Along with the crucified and resurrected Savior, we are His collaborators in saving, through which we have life and have it abundantly."
His Holiness, reflecting on the significance of the Resurrection for the Armenian people and nation, noted: "Holy Etchmiadzin, established through the shower of light of the Resurrection, is the soul of all Armenians; the rejuvenated soul of the nation, surviving destructions and deaths throughout the centuries of history. Our people have not seen the empty tomb of Christ, but together with Christ, they have often seen the emptiness of the graves which had been prepared for them. Together with Christ they wove glorious crowns of victory. The Armenian cannot deny the Resurrection of the Christ. Our past and our present are testimony to that Resurrection. We experienced the Golgotha of the Genocide together with Christ, turning the most tragic period of our history into a time of victory. Our people, massacred and bleeding, in heroic struggle, gave birth to their new statehood. The first Armenian Republic rose from the ashes, as testimony to the immortal aspiration of our people for the eternal existence of Armenian statehood. Resurrected is Christ, resurrected is the Armenian Nation."
The Catholicos of All Armenians called upon the pious faithful to follow the examples of their luminous forefathers in overcoming all difficulties in this temporal life, to see the providential love of God beyond material goods, to believe in the saving mission and strength of the Risen Christ. "The message of the Feast of Easter is faith. Our resurrected life with the Redeemer begins with faith, and with faith it strengthens and flourishes. With faith, self-sacrifice becomes natural, and love for a neighbor becomes the source of joy and happiness. This is the deep and mysterious miracle of the Resurrection, always aspiring to eternal heights, to truth, to justice and to the good. . . . Beloved Armenians, with the light of your faith turn your life to glorifying God, so that in all your works, your heartbeat is strong, your love emanates, and your will for the just, the true and the good is victorious", noted His Holiness.
The Pontiff of All Armenians also addressed his greetings, blessings and congratulations to the Incumbents of the Hierarchal Sees of the Armenian Church, the entire ranks of clergy, state officials of the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh and the spiritual leaders of Sister Churches.
Present during the Divine Liturgy were Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Andranik Margarian, President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia Gagik Harutiunian, National Assembly Members and Ministers of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, ambassadors and the diplomatic corps of foreign governments, representatives of international organizations in Armenia, members of the Supreme Spiritual Council, and thousands of faithful from throughout Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora.
At the conclusion of Divine Liturgy, an official reception was held in the Pontifical Residence during which His Holiness welcomed and congratulated the guests on the occasion of the Glorious Resurrection of Christ, with the great tiding: "Christ is Risen from the dead! Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ."
