Western Prelacy
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian
Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
E-mail [email protected]
Telephone 818-248-7737
Fax 818-248-7745
Prelate’s Easter Message
Today Angels descending from heaven the give tidings of great joy to
mankind: “He who was crucified is risen and has resurrected you with
Him.” Let us then renew our lives with renewal as a new people today
through the Resurrection of Christ. (from the Patrum Chant of Easter
Morning)
Being obedient to the Will of His Father, the Son of God stretched His
immaculate arms upon the Cross, thereby perfectly fulfilling His
earthly mission. He was buried in a new tomb, and then rose from the
dead on the third day as the immortal and heavenly groom. By His
death He trampled upon Death, and He granted new life to all those who
believed in Him, and who followed His Way, His Truth, and His Life.
With the glorious Resurrection our Lord Jesus Christ completed the
mission of the revelation of God, and as the Lamb of God, He took away
the sin of the world.
Behold once again the supreme meaning of our Faith and the foundation
of its victory are celebrated with the joyous tidings of the
Resurrection which fill our hearts and enkindle our souls with new
breath.
“Today Angels descending from Heaven give tidings of great joy to
mankind: He who was crucified is risen and has resurrecuted you with
Him.”
Such encouraging words! Such a hopeful testimony! Such inspiring
good tidings!
The Apostle Paul, the famous preacher of the Resurrection, conveys to
us the great message with the same inspiration and emphasis:
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.”
(Colossians 3:1)
The Oil-bearing Women who discovered the empty tomb early on the first
day of the week and told the Disciples were indeed the first witnesses
of the Resurrection. They saw the risen Lord, they received His
peaceful greeting, and as He commanded them, they went out to the
entire world, baptized all who believed, preached salvation, and by
giving testimony of the hope of the Resurrection, turned the eyes and
attention of the faithful to the gloriousSecond Coming of the Lord.
>From the earliest days following the Pentecost, the lives of our
people have been miraculously transformed through the miracle of the
Resurrection because our fathers and mothers not only understood the
mystery of the Resurrection but in fact effected the very mystery of
renewal in the life of the Armenian nation.
Today, more than ever, the Feast of the Resurrection invites us to
accept the responsibility of renewal by abiding in the way of truth.
Dear faithful,
As children of the Armenian nation and as members of the same Church,
let us go forth in the spirit of the message of the Holy Resurrection,
remembering the words of the Apostle Paul:
“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection:
knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body
of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of
sin.” (Romans 6:5-6)
Our Lord Jesus Christ comforted His disciples, saying:
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In
the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
With these same words of encouragement, as children of God and
children of the Armenian nation, let us strive to overcome our own
tribulations, weaknesses, and doubts. Let us flee from all those
conditions and lifestyles which obscure and indeed which thwart the
manifestation of the risen Lord in our life. Let us be mindful of the
message of Apostle Paul not to follow in the ways of those who choose
not to be obedient to God, and enhanced with the spirit ofthe
Resurrection in our personal, family, national, and church lives, let
us “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with
his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge
according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:9-10).
Dear faithful,
Let us comprehend the mystery of the Resurrection according to the
encyclical of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia, by which he has declared 2004 to be the “Year of the Armenian
Family.”
Let us renew and restore our family life by strengthening our
Apostolic Faith, by rediscovering our traditions and customs, and by
reconnecting theyouth of the community with our ancestral virtues.
May the presence of the resurrected Saviour within every Armenian
family bestow a new life therein and transform us into a family of
Paradise so that our attention and focus may be directed heavenward.
By the Resurrection of Christ may every Armenian family be cleansed of
transgressions, and being rejuvenated, may every Armenian family
resume theWay to Truth and Eternal Life.
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Renewed by the message of the glorious and holy Resurrection, we
convey our love and Easter Greetings and Blessings to the Reverend
Clergy, the Central Executive, the parishes and parochial
institutions, educational and cultural organizations, charitable
foundations, and all of the faithful who serve and are served within
the Prelacy. We pray that our Lord who renews all may grace us
likewise, and through His Resurrection may He grant newness of life in
Armenia, in Artsakh, and throughout the Diaspora.
Christ is risen from the dead! Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ!
Prayerfully yours,
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian
Easter, 2004
Prelate, Western United States