ADDRESS OF THE CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS ON CHRISTMAS
armradio.am
06.01.2009 17:26
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
"A new king is born in Bethlehem Bless (Him) sons of mankind, For He
became incarnate for us."
Armenian Church Hymnal
Dear pious faithful in Armenia, Artsakh and the Dispersion, With
songs of praise and prayers of thanksgiving we celebrate the Feast
of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ today,
conveying the good news of the incarnation of God and the revelation
of the Savior.
The prayerful fathers of our Church called the Holy Nativity a
"mystery great and wondrous". They named it as such, since it is
impossible to describe how the uncontainable, the eternal and the
boundless was contained in a manger; how the Word and Wisdom of God
was born in a stable of incognizant animals. It remains beyond the
comprehension of the human mind how the Only Begotten Son of God –
the Creator’s Light of Glory – became a created being, and the Lord
took on the form of the servant.
We do not know how this great miracle of God came to pass nor can
it be explained; however we do know the reason for the miracle,
"For He became incarnate for us". Truly, these few words explain the
Almighty’s providential will, guiding and directing the Holy Nativity
and Theophany.
God is Lord and Creator "of heaven and earth, of things visible and
invisible". His glory is shown by His temporal and spiritual creations
– the universe, mankind and the angels. The God of all has no need for
body nor time. The Savior seated on the eternal throne of God had no
need to descend from the heights of heaven to this sinful earth. The
Prince of Peace had no need for persecution, torture, and crucifixion;
there was no need for a crown of thorns, death, or resurrection. But
all of this the Savior took upon Himself for our sake. The Love of
God took on flesh to liberate us from the power of sin and death,
and to make us worthy of the blessedness of eternal life. "In this
is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son
to be the expiation for our sins." I John 4:10. God Whom we lovingly
worship does not desire our death or condemnation, and for that reason
He Himself came to live within us. He came to transform our lives,
to grant us the hope of salvation and eternal life.
Indeed, our songs of praise and giving of thanks have no value,
if within the depths of our soul we do not have the unshaken faith
that God "became incarnate for us". Our prayers will not be heard,
if God does not abide in the very center of our existence.
Holy Nativity marks the beginning of reconciliation between God and
man; it is the invitation to inherit eternal life and the exhortation
to remain under the grace of salvation with Jesus Christ. God revealed
Himself to us in His fullness, so that we do not remain apart from that
fullness of divine and human perfection, and so that our lives hoping
for salvation become satiated with that fullness of perfection. We
believe that God is one. Is unity not essential for us? We preach
that God is love. Do we not feel the need for love? Can we live
without love? Can we create without love? God, to Whom we constantly
pray, is holy, righteous and benevolent. Let us examine our hearts –
do we not feel the need for holiness? Let us examine our actions –
are they always truthful, good and benevolent? We declare that God is
just. Do we not long for justice every hour of every day? We confess
that God is our Father; that He is merciful, the unending source of
peace and the grantor of goodness. Is peace not our daily appeal and
wish? Does the earth not yearn for mercy and care every day? He who
recognizes God in this manner, cannot live without Him; cannot live
without binding his own hope for salvation with the faith of the
incarnation of the Son of God; and cannot live without aspiring to
always be under His blessings and graces.
The world loses its path without the light from the star of Bethlehem.
Without Christ, the world will always be in distress, troubled and
lacking morality. Material progress alone will not secure the avoida
nce of crisis situations, the prevention of conflicts and discord,
or the elimination of disasters and poverty. The disregard of
spiritual values and the tendencies of secularization unequivocally
damage sacred traditions, distort moral concepts and understanding,
as well as the inner-world of man, causing him to be indifferent to
and alienated from God, from himself and the world. It is God who
sustains the human soul. Human life shall be repaired by the soul that
loves God and the power of faith, so that there is no blurring of the
boundaries between philanthropy and egoism, so that there is no failure
to differentiate between the just and the unjust, truth and falsehood,
good and evil. Many issues shall be decided, many disparities shall be
leveled and wounds shall be healed by the discerning comprehension and
belief that the Son of God became man for our sake. This example of
perfect love is light and direction for our lives and a commission
to work with love. "Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and
beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness and patience,
forbearing one another; and if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must
forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything
together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:12-14.
Dear faithful Armenians, on the "great and wondrous" feast of the Holy
Nativity and Theopha ny, our Church commemorates the holy baptism
of Jesus Christ with the Blessing of the Waters service, so that
through the graces of Christ’s revelation to mankind, the blessed
water be distributed throughout our families, increasing the love and
blessings of God in our lives. Through our baptism, we are adopted by
God. Through our baptism, we are one – regardless of where we may be;
we are the sons and daughters of our Holy Apostolic Church, our nation
and our homeland. Let us live and work with this sense of unity and
love towards one another, so that we may be empowered to overcome all
difficulties and challenges, to progress toward the achievement of our
hopes and aims. As the oldest Christian nation and as God’s people, let
us bring our participation with our God-pleasing lives in the creation
of a peaceful and prosperous world – a world filled with solidarity
and happiness. Today our Lord and Savior comes to live within our
hearts and to renew us with His grace. Let us receive the Lord in our
souls, be reinforced with faith, and remain loyal to our spiritual
inheritance and Christian values. With reliance on our Lord and Savior
and the steadfast hope and strength granted from Him, let us make our
lives flourishing in all aspects, continue to build our native land,
and care and strive for the manifestation of all national aspirations
and the rights of our people in Artsakh. May our virtuous works and
benevolent souls filled with love towards one another always shine
brightly in our lives, whereby we shall bear witness that we love God.
It is with these emotions, prayers of joy and warm Pontifical love,
from the cradle of our faith – the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
– that we greet all sons and daughters of our people in Armenia,
Artsakh and the Diaspora.
With fraternal love in Christ, we greet the incumbents of the
hierarchal sees of our Holy Apostolic Church: His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia; His Beatitude Torkom
Manoogian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem; His Beatitude Mesrob
Mutafyan, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople; and the oath-bound
ranks of our clergy.
We extend our Pontifical blessings and greetings to the President
of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsian; the President of the
Republic of Nagorno Karabagh, Bako Sahakian; all state officials of
the Armenians, and leaders and representatives of diplomatic missions
accredited to Armenia.
On this grace-renewing day of the Holy Nativity, let us offer
thanksgiving with prayers to God in heaven for the blessings and
consolation He grants us; for the successes and achievements in our
ecclesiastical and national life, and ask that He care for us with
His boundless love as is His will.
May He make us worthy to remain steadfast on His path, reinforce
us, illuminate us and make His saving grace shine within us, today
and always.
"Bless (Him) sons of mankind, for He became incarnate for us."
Christ is Born and Revealed Great Tidings to you and us.