His Holiness Karekin II: "Let us live with Christ and our life will always be a dawn that greets the Resurrection."
Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ Celebrated in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
On Sunday March 31, the Armenian Church celebrated the Holy Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Early on this beautiful Spring morning, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, led by a solemn ecclesiastical procession and with the singing of ?Hrashapar?, moved to the Cathedral of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin His Holiness celebrated the Divine Liturgy and delivered his Pontifical Message to the faithful Armenians throughout the world, giving the good news of the Resurrection of Christ.
Choosing the words of Christ: ?... I am the Way and the Truth and the Life? (John 14:6) as the theme of his sermon, His Holiness exhorted the faithful to live with by the words of Christ, His Resurrection and His Divine Presence.
?Our each and every word and action either validates the truth or offers it up for sale, either soothes and consoles our neighbor or stabs his heart, either builds or destroys, either gives birth to light or falls to darkness. Let us not be sellers of the truth, as those bribed soldiers who gave false testimony, declaring that the body of Jesus had been removed by the disciples. Let us instead, with an incorruptible spirit, a righteous heart and unadulterated faith in the Resurrection be in communion at the Holy Altars of our Church with the life giving body and blood of the Only Begotten Son of God. He who has known the truth, does not desire darkness. He who has walked on the paths of veracity, does not wander in obscurity. Our path is the One, Holy, Apostolic, Armenian Church, who preaches Christ Resurrected, instilling in us the belief, and sustaining in us the path to the Resurrection?, said His Holiness, addressing the gathered faithful and the nation.
?The renaissance of Christian morality today is a national issue, and the subject of concern for each one of us, since without love, without honesty, without righteousness and without law and order, all accomplishments and successes will be temporary. Without these, we will have an economy void of free and harmonious development, science far removed from its vocation of service to the progress of life, and the arts merely imitating and soulless. We cannot create anything lasting, which contributes to happiness, without the Savior?, said His Holiness, exhorting to be defenders of justice and law, and to not allow ?our lives to become the marketplace for false values, fake ideas and lawless transactions?.
His Holiness directed his message to the whole Armenian nation dispersed throughout the world that Armenia shall ?not only be the historical Motherland, but it will be the residence of their fathers, assembling us near the Ark-bearing Ararat, under the shelter of the Only Begotten built Holy Etchmiadzin.?
?With faith in the Resurrection, let us proclaim throughout the world the invitation of the new covenant of ?Armenia-Diaspora? unity. With vibrancy, delight and trusting in the Lord, let us engage in the building of independent Armenian statehood - the shaping of our new life. Let us set aglow new lights in the Holy Temple of our national unity, let us trust in our power through Christ, let us love our unanimity, and keep our Holy Apostolic Church whole and bright. Our Church, where the Almighty dwells with His blessings, where His true power radiates from the Resurrection which has filled with awakening the meadows of Armenian life. The Resurrection transmits a new lifeblood to Free Artsakh and the Armenian Diaspora, who are living with creativity and believing in the victory of life. Let us live with Christ and our life will always be a dawn that greets the Resurrection?, stated His Holiness.
In the spirit of the Resurrection His Holiness extended greetings, blessings and congratulations to the incumbents of the Hierarchical Sees of the Armenian Church, the ranks of clergy, the high-ranking officials of the Armenian government, and the entire flock of faithful in Armenia, Artsakh and in the Diaspora.
His Excellency Mr. Robert Kocharian, the President of the Republic of Armenia; Mr. Arkady Ghoukasian, the President of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh; Mr. Armen Khachatrian, the Speaker of the National Assembly (Parliament); Mr. Andranik Margarian, the Prime Minister; deputies of the National Assembly; ministers; ambassadors accredited in Armenia; representatives of international organizations functioning in Armenia; members of the Supreme Spiritual Council; and thousands of faithful attended the Divine Liturgy.
Following the Liturgy there was an official reception in the Veharan (Residence of the Catholicos), during which His Holiness once again gave the good tidings of Christ's Glorious Resurrection.
