This past week evil once again lifted its head in front of the Armenian people in the form of a hate-crime. When a convicted axe-murderer was returned to Azerbaijan by the Hungarian government, he was granted a heroes welcome. His crime? Killing an Armenian — in his sleep, no less! To the Azerbaijanis, this was an act of heroism… (and a way to fan the flames of hate.)

An even worse evil raises its head now, in the missing response to this hate-crime. The US State Department commented briefly but it is obvious that the Armenians are too small of a population over which to strain relations with the heavyweights of the world.

Fortunately, our Armenian Church leadership spoke up dramatically on this issue. His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, loudly protested and called on religious leaders to voice their disgust for this type of hate-rally. Our Primate, Archbishop Hovnan Derderian wrote a very strong letter of protest to the Hungarian government. (These documents can — and should be — read on the Diocesan website: ArmenianChurchWD.com.)

As you know, part of the unique character of our parish is the In His Shoes philosophy which focuses on these crimes, not only against Armenians, but against humanity and offers a true Christian response. It’s not the “wet-noodle” response people expect, but one of courage and activism. If we expect others to note the pain of Armenians, we Armenians must champion the causes of others, no matter where and who they are. I invite you to listen to our broadcasts this week – both the “Next Step” and “In Step with Christ” which focused on this crime and our—the Christian response.
-Fr. Vazken
Listen/watch at Epostle.net

This appeared in the Key 9/9/12: http://armenianchurchyouthministries.org/newsletter/The%20Key%20-%20090912.pdf