Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

Today we are united at Holy Etchmiadzin, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Army, to pray for the peace of our country, and to ask the Lord to always Bless, protect, and support the Armenian Armed Forces.

In the three decades following the Independence of our homeland, our Army went through all the possible and impossible trials, passed the difficult path of formation. It created glorious victories in the forced War of Artsakh, as well as lived through the bitterness and pain of the 44-day war last year. For that reason, the usual joy that attends our hearts on this anniversary is mitigated today, by the terrible knowledge of the heavy human and territorial losses we have incurred, and the unquenchable grief we feel over our martyred countrymen.

Today, in our collective prayer, we ask for the Kingdom of God for the immortal souls of our fallen heroes; and wish victory, strength, and wisdom to our commanders and soldiers, who bravely fought, and continue to devote their dedicated service to the homeland.

Our Beloved, our people have often found themselves in difficult geopolitical situations throughout history, when they were forced to defend their homeland and sacred places by fighting to the death, proving their godliness and patriotism. For centuries, the deep Christian conviction that ‘God is with us’, the inspiring slogan ‘for the sake of faith, for the sake of the homeland’, has guided the Armenian military in its patriotic, sacred mission to defend the homeland. Likewise, awareness of the presence of God in our lives, and the motto ‘for the sake of faith, for the sake of the homeland’, should be the fundamental conviction of every soldier’s life.

The 30th anniversary of the formation of our Army is an occasion to evaluate our children’s selfless service, an occasion for serious reflection on missteps and shortcomings, so that we can face the challenges of our country and look to the future with optimism. Defeats will be irreversible, wounds incurable, if we fail to find the strength to persevere and build; if the obsession to lay blame and succumb to defeatism becomes routine; if we abandon the sincere, pure faith that places God at the center of building and strengthening the homeland. Indeed, whenever we have been faithful to this mission, our homeland has flourished, our borders have remained impregnable. But when the weeds of unfaithfulness and injustice have been allowed to overtake our fruitful land, we have suffered retreat and loss. Let us instead find assurance in the Apostle’s words: ‘If God is for us, who shall be against us?’ (Rom. 8:31).

Dear faithful, due to the situation around Armenia and Artsakh, it is imperative to strengthen the Armenian Armed Forces in accordance with the needs of the times, to which we must dedicate ourselves to the best of our ability. The sacred mission of our army must continue to protect the national identity of our people, the free and independent life in our historical, native cradle, where our ancestors left an indelible mark with their faith and patriotism. The clergy, too, play a strong role in the Armenian Army, my friends, in the vital commitment to peace and security of the homeland, and protection of our just rights. Let it never be said of us, as the Psalmist warned: ‘My enemy will boast, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall’ (Psalm 12:5). We believe that we must face trials with national unity; we must brighten our lives with new, patriotic achievements.

Conveying our Pontifical love and Blessings to all of you on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Armenian Army; from the depths of our heart, we ask God to remember our children who gave their lives in defense of the homeland. We pray for the safe service of the command staff and soldiers of the Armenian Army; we pray for victory, peace, and the unshakeable foundation of our homeland. May the Mercy of the Lord envelop the Armenian Army, our Homeland, and our people all over the world, today and always. Amen.