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PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
March 28, 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."
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
March 28, 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."