Tweet
CHURCH OF CHRIST HAS A MISSION TO HELP PREVENT CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: HIS HOLINESS KAREKIN II
13:28, 22 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Address of His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos Of All Armenians at
the Global Forum Session on the Occasion of the Centennial of the
Armenian Genocide
22 April 2015
Dear Brothers in Christ:
We praise the Lord most high on the occasion of this gathering. By
the will of God, we have come together to commemorate the 100th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in brotherly love, prayer,
and with united efforts to witness and realize Christ's message
"that all may become one" (John 17:21)
At the beginning of the twentieth century the monstrous crime of
genocide was planned and carried out by Ottoman Turkey, millions of
Armenians were forced out of their native lands and were decimated,
and others were forced to convert. The wave of these horrific evils
did not spare the other ethnic and religious minorities of the Ottoman
Empire, like the children of the brotherly Greek and Syrian peoples.
Dear faithful brothers, today in your countries many sons and daughters
of our nation, who are the descendants of those Armenians who survived
and dispersed throughout the world, live and work side-by-side with
the Christ-loving flock entrusted to your care by the Lord and share
in your sorrows and joys. They are living testimony to the barbaric
crime. They are also our answer to the denial of the Armenian
Genocide. In the name of our faithful, we express our gratitude to
you for the care, love and your paternal blessings that you have
continuously shown towards our people.
Many of you have come from countries of the Middle East. Today within
the borders of your countries rest the remains of Armenians killed in
the deserts of the Ottoman Empire, whom in the words of the Book of
Revelations, still await justice (cf. Revelations 6:9-10). We believe
that justice must be established on a firm foundation for the sake
of humanity's well-being, peace and solidarity.
The Armenian Genocide was accompanied by cultural obliteration as
well. Many holy shrines, churches, monasteries, sacred spiritual and
cultural treasures were destroyed and will never be replaced. Many
of you have had occasion to visit Christian holy sites in Turkey,
where prayers are no longer heard and which lie in ruins or are on
the verge of collapse due to intentional neglect.
This is just a sketch of the horrendous crime that was committed
at the beginning of the 20th century. The 100 years following the
Genocide have been years of resurrection in our national life and a
long, challenging path to bring justice for our people. It has been
comforting that along this difficult path we have been assisted
by our brothers in the great Christian family and by peoples and
individuals of good will. We have been consoled by the unwavering
support of civilized and progressive humanity, when various countries,
organizations and individuals have recognized the Armenian Genocide
and condemned this crime of the early 20th century.
The Church of Christ has a mission bestowed upon by the Lord to
preach the life-giving Divine word to establish love, brotherhood and
peace amongst people and to help prevent and heal the consequences
of crimes against humanity. Crimes of all kinds, whether murder,
terror, atrocity, or genocide, are violations of God's creation and
are transgressions against the sanctity and dignity of human life and
therefore sins that must be atoned for through confession, repentance,
and redemption. Guided by the apostolic word "to do everything in love"
(1 Corinthians 16:14) and adhering to the church father's exhortation
to "love the sinner, but hate the sin," the church never considers
the expression of Christian love toward sinners to be acceptance or
approval of sin or transgression. There should be no doubt that the
condemnation of committed crimes is essential for the prevention of
new evils and calamities.
Dear spiritual brothers, this is an occasion once again to raise
our voices to condemn the crimes against humanity which have not yet
received the justice they are due as well as the crimes being committed
today, especially in the continuing conflict and terrorism in the
Middle East, and to call on the leaders of all nations, states and
international institutions to exert every effort to stop these crimes,
which are bringing about destruction and slaughter of innocents.
We are deeply upset, that on the eve of the commemoration events of
the Armenian Genocide, we are informed once again of crime against
the faithful of the Ethiopian church that has been perpetrated by
extremists in Libya, as was the same case against the Coptic Christians
only months ago. As a result, our beloved brother, His Holiness Abune
Mathias I, Patriarch and Catholicos of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox
Church, was unable to participate in these commemorative events. We
offer our support to our beloved brother and his faithful flock,
praying that God receive in His dwellings on high the souls of the
martyred children of the Ethiopian Church.
We convey Our brotherly love and gratitude to you all for partaking
in the events commemorating the Armenian Genocide.
We pray that All-Merciful God will help and support us so that we
may fulfill our mission and continue to work together for the sake
of establishing peace, justice and solidarity in the world, for the
glory of God, the vibrancy of Christ's Holy Church, and the well-being
of all humanity.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/04/22/church-of-christ-has-a-mission-to-help-prevent-crimes-against-humanity-his-holiness-karekin-ii/
13:28, 22 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Address of His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos Of All Armenians at
the Global Forum Session on the Occasion of the Centennial of the
Armenian Genocide
22 April 2015
Dear Brothers in Christ:
We praise the Lord most high on the occasion of this gathering. By
the will of God, we have come together to commemorate the 100th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in brotherly love, prayer,
and with united efforts to witness and realize Christ's message
"that all may become one" (John 17:21)
At the beginning of the twentieth century the monstrous crime of
genocide was planned and carried out by Ottoman Turkey, millions of
Armenians were forced out of their native lands and were decimated,
and others were forced to convert. The wave of these horrific evils
did not spare the other ethnic and religious minorities of the Ottoman
Empire, like the children of the brotherly Greek and Syrian peoples.
Dear faithful brothers, today in your countries many sons and daughters
of our nation, who are the descendants of those Armenians who survived
and dispersed throughout the world, live and work side-by-side with
the Christ-loving flock entrusted to your care by the Lord and share
in your sorrows and joys. They are living testimony to the barbaric
crime. They are also our answer to the denial of the Armenian
Genocide. In the name of our faithful, we express our gratitude to
you for the care, love and your paternal blessings that you have
continuously shown towards our people.
Many of you have come from countries of the Middle East. Today within
the borders of your countries rest the remains of Armenians killed in
the deserts of the Ottoman Empire, whom in the words of the Book of
Revelations, still await justice (cf. Revelations 6:9-10). We believe
that justice must be established on a firm foundation for the sake
of humanity's well-being, peace and solidarity.
The Armenian Genocide was accompanied by cultural obliteration as
well. Many holy shrines, churches, monasteries, sacred spiritual and
cultural treasures were destroyed and will never be replaced. Many
of you have had occasion to visit Christian holy sites in Turkey,
where prayers are no longer heard and which lie in ruins or are on
the verge of collapse due to intentional neglect.
This is just a sketch of the horrendous crime that was committed
at the beginning of the 20th century. The 100 years following the
Genocide have been years of resurrection in our national life and a
long, challenging path to bring justice for our people. It has been
comforting that along this difficult path we have been assisted
by our brothers in the great Christian family and by peoples and
individuals of good will. We have been consoled by the unwavering
support of civilized and progressive humanity, when various countries,
organizations and individuals have recognized the Armenian Genocide
and condemned this crime of the early 20th century.
The Church of Christ has a mission bestowed upon by the Lord to
preach the life-giving Divine word to establish love, brotherhood and
peace amongst people and to help prevent and heal the consequences
of crimes against humanity. Crimes of all kinds, whether murder,
terror, atrocity, or genocide, are violations of God's creation and
are transgressions against the sanctity and dignity of human life and
therefore sins that must be atoned for through confession, repentance,
and redemption. Guided by the apostolic word "to do everything in love"
(1 Corinthians 16:14) and adhering to the church father's exhortation
to "love the sinner, but hate the sin," the church never considers
the expression of Christian love toward sinners to be acceptance or
approval of sin or transgression. There should be no doubt that the
condemnation of committed crimes is essential for the prevention of
new evils and calamities.
Dear spiritual brothers, this is an occasion once again to raise
our voices to condemn the crimes against humanity which have not yet
received the justice they are due as well as the crimes being committed
today, especially in the continuing conflict and terrorism in the
Middle East, and to call on the leaders of all nations, states and
international institutions to exert every effort to stop these crimes,
which are bringing about destruction and slaughter of innocents.
We are deeply upset, that on the eve of the commemoration events of
the Armenian Genocide, we are informed once again of crime against
the faithful of the Ethiopian church that has been perpetrated by
extremists in Libya, as was the same case against the Coptic Christians
only months ago. As a result, our beloved brother, His Holiness Abune
Mathias I, Patriarch and Catholicos of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox
Church, was unable to participate in these commemorative events. We
offer our support to our beloved brother and his faithful flock,
praying that God receive in His dwellings on high the souls of the
martyred children of the Ethiopian Church.
We convey Our brotherly love and gratitude to you all for partaking
in the events commemorating the Armenian Genocide.
We pray that All-Merciful God will help and support us so that we
may fulfill our mission and continue to work together for the sake
of establishing peace, justice and solidarity in the world, for the
glory of God, the vibrancy of Christ's Holy Church, and the well-being
of all humanity.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/04/22/church-of-christ-has-a-mission-to-help-prevent-crimes-against-humanity-his-holiness-karekin-ii/