Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

In the evening of January 5, the worldwide spiritual and administrative headquarters of the Armenian Church celebrated a solemn Candlelight Divine Liturgy in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. With the participation of thousands of faithful, the good news was proclaimed for the first time in 2004: "Christ is Born and Revealed, Blessed is the Revelation of Christ!" 

On January 6, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians celebrated Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin on the occasion of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ. During the Pontifical Divine Liturgy, His Holiness proclaimed the Christmastide Good News of "Unto you is born this day . . . a Savior" (Luke 2:11), and delivered his message addressed to "all our beloved faithful in Armenia, in Artsakh, and dispersed throughout the world." The Catholicos of All Armenians exhorted the faithful stating, "Christ is our way, Christ is our strength and refuge. Born to us this day is the Savior; born to us is hope and love. This is our belief. This is the truth - constant and eternal!? 

On this day, the Armenian Church also offers a special Blessing of the Waters Service to celebrate the Baptism of Christ, which was the commencement of His earthly ministry. Before the Main Altar of the Cathedral, the Catholicos of All Armenians offered the service, wherein he blessed the waters with the cross and the Holy Chrism, in commemoration of Christ blessing the waters with his baptism and presence in the River Jordan. The Godfather of the Cross for the service was Mr. Vardan Oskanian, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia. 

In his message to the faithful throughout the world, the Pontiff of All Armenians stated, in part: "On this good morning of the Holy Nativity, resounding in our souls from the Altars of Armenian Churches, is the great heavenly tiding: "Unto you is born this day . . . a Savior". Our spiritual life is shaped by this angelic tiding. As Christians we believe that God Who created the world, also saved the world. In the grotto of Bethlehem, the Son of God became a child to save man from the prison of sins and to restore his divine image and liberated soul, so that he return from the paths of death toward his Creator - back to the source of life. The love of God towards man was confirmed through the revelation of Jesus; and the manger in Bethlehem became mankind's fountainhead of blessing, from where God-given, saving grace and hope dawned upon the world. The Savior is born to us this day, Lord and Guide of souls, Restorer of life. 

"On this soul-renewing day of the Holy Nativity, together with the ranks of angels, let us praise God in the highest realms, and with our first prayer let us ask that peace be durable throughout the world, and that the social development of nations and states progress and strengthen with the values of humanity which emanate from the knowledge of the truth that all men are children of God . . . In the rapidly changing course of our materialistic and secularizing age, man as an individual - and mankind as a whole - need to recognize the spiritual aspects more than ever. Centuries-old traditions can be altered, values can adopt new meanings, but the truth that the world without God is meaningless is always unchangeable, and that man in reality is alone and hopeless without a living relationship with his Creator . . . In the fullness of time, Christ came into the world and dwelt in men's souls opened through faith. Is it perhaps not the time that the human soul be renewed with faith and become alive with love? Is it perhaps not the time to seek forgiveness, to find forgiveness, to turn back from God-denying ways, acts and practices; so that the whole world be always guarded under the grace of the love, peace and blessing of the philanthropic, loving and merciful God? 

"Dearly beloved faithful Armenians, through the gift of our Apostolic Holy Church, we have become worthy of the universally shining light of the love of the Savior. We have found the grace of spiritual freedom, which has brought manifold blessings into the life of our people . . . Regardless if Armenian statehood was in existence or not, the Armenian Church always remained the free spiritual Motherland of the Armenians, exalted and unconquerable, where love of freedom was nurtured as the God-given wonderful and inviolable precious gift. We believed in the revelation of the Savior, and during the difficult crossroads of history, we found the strength to confront the temptations, to live and to create, and to defend our right to freedom. 

" . . . Today, the name of Jesus the Savior is becoming more recognized and loved by our children and our youth. With our reawakening faith, our life is being transfigured and our hope for the future is being strengthened - in spite of all difficulties. Dearly beloved Armenian people, indeed with self-sacrificing efforts and valiant deeds of a God-loving free soul, with the unity of the Motherland and the Dispersion, we will construct the new tomorrow of Armenian life, hand in hand; we will open the doors of return to the Motherland; and from the slopes of Ararat, new horizons of hope for the homeland will flutter and gleam. We give thanks to the Most High, that the Dispersion has been and remains to be the outstretched arms of the Motherland. Even though relocations taken place during recent years have caused new circumstances to develop in Diasporan communities, our children gathering together around the Armenian Church are preserving and progressing Armenian life, continuing national traditions, and with the same dedication, they are extending a hand to the Motherland, through the activity of cultural organizations and educational institutions. Through the opportunities accorded to us by the reality of our free country, today we already witness that with a progressive Motherland, the Armenian Dispersion becomes strong and energetic; and through a unified and organized Diaspora, the Motherland becomes powerful.? 

Present for the Divine Liturgy and the Blessing of the Waters Service were President of the National Assembly Mr. Arthur Baghdasarian, 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 Pontifical Residence.