Pentecost: Lesson of Life

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Armodoxy for Today: From History to Sermon

The sermon begins “Today is Pentecost” followed by a story from the pages of the Book of Acts. We hear the story of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples, turning them into the evangelists for Christ’s Holy Church. What’s our take-away from this sermon? There was an event, on the 50th day after the Resurrection – pente, 50 – and with the reception of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles embarked on their sacred mission to evangelize the world.

This is what’s known as a history lesson in the guise of a sermon. The purpose of a sermon, unlike a history lesson, is to preach a lesson to the listener, a lesson which applies to their lives today. It was for this reason that Jesus promised the Disciples to send the Holy Spirit, so that they would not merely present Jesus as a figure of history, but as the Living God that affects and interacts with His children in their lives today, as He did 2000 years ago. Pentecost is the event that invites us to the holiness of the Church. It is in His Sacred Church, where that message is revealed.

When Jesus began his ministry, he invited the Disciple to “Come and follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) At the end of his ministry on Earth he said to them, “Go and make disciple of all…” (Matthew 28:16-20) “Come” says Jesus to learn as my Disciples, “Go” says Christ to teach as my Apostles.

A simple but powerful prayer by St. Nersess Shnorhali reminds that the Holy Spirit has touched the Disciples and purified us by working and acting within us all. Today is a day to be receptive to the joy that fills our lives with godliness.

Spirit of God, true God, who descended on the river Jordan, and into the Upper Room; who enlightened me by the baptism of the Holy Font, I have sinned against heaven and before you. Purify me again with your divine fire, as the fiery tongues purified the Holy Apostles.
Have mercy upon your creatures, and on me, a sinner. Amen.

When I started to cry for Artsakh | Interview with Gala Danilova

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Gala Danilova, a refugee from Artsakh (Nagorna-Karabakh) discusses the process of exile from their home, and how to balance the feelings of hatred and sorrow with the power of love. Interviewed March 31, 2025, Yerevan, Armenia by Fr. Vazken Movsesian The protest in Yerevan took place right after this interview. Camera, Edited and Produced by Gregory Beylerian

Non-Denominational Closeup

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Non-Denominational Closeup

As a kid I remember a commercial on television featuring a nice-looking building. A voice asks, “Nice building, huh?” Then the camera zooms in to reveal cracks and chips that were painted over, and without skipping a beat the voice would divulge the truth, “…until you look up closely!” The body of the voice would then come on screen to plug some kind of texture coating that hid the scars of the building.

Usually things look nice from a distance, but upon a closer look the cracks start showing. Religion is also included in this rule. We will stick our discussion today to the Christian religion. One of the popular designations of Christianity that needs to receive a closer look is the term “non-denomination.” It is fairly popular these days because it is presented as a free-spirited version of Christianity. “Generally, non-denominational churches believe that the Bible is the sole authority that dictates every aspect of the church, with scripture shaping their beliefs and philosophies. They are also self-governing entities, with elders often overseeing the church’s organization, structure, and traditions.” (source: https://christianministryedu.org)

Before we take a closer look, let’s remember the course we have travelled to get to this point in Armodoxy for Today. We went through a period of preparation called Lent. We celebrated the Resurrection, and then continued with the formation of the first Christian communities. Currently we are in that period between Ascension (40 days after Easter) and the Pentecost (50 days after Easter).

There is a reason the Church asks you to take this journey. The Bible does not exist as a Book unto itself. When Jesus was crucified, there was no Bible. When he resurrected, there was no Bible. When he ascended, there was no Bible. In fact, there was no formal Bible for a few hundred years! However, at all those same events – crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and on into the formation of the communities –there was the Church!

Those who claim to be non-denominational say that they accept the Bible as the sole authority in matters of their faith. By their own admission, they have excluded themselves from a major part of Christian history and development.

God’s greatest gift to humanity was not the Bible. Much more important than the Bible is Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God the Father. Jesus’ gift to humanity was not the Bible, rather it was his holy and precious Body, namely the Church. And it was the Church that compiled the books together to give us what we refer to as the Bible.

The Armenian word for Bible is Asdvadzashunch, which literally means the Breath of God. The Armenian Church refers to it as the “breath” because it guides us as spirit, not as a book of laws and regulations, along the paths of Truth, Hope and Love.

I understand the appeal of non-denominationalism, especially in our world today when everyone is given a platform to interpret, or even worse, to create a derivative of Christ’s holy and sacred message. In other words, within the non-denominational category, you can have a few million or billion derivatives of the faith. This is why when we speak of the Armenian Apostolic Church, we are grounding ourselves in a Tradition that dates back to the time of Christ, that is, before there was a Bible. We are not a Bible-centered community of believers, we are Christ centered.  Non-denominationalism is very nice looking, and appealing, but when you look up closely you notice the chips and the holes. Jesus set up his Church and it is guided by the Holy Spirit. In his unfailing words Jesus says, “The gates of Hell will not prevail against it!” (Matthew 16:18)

We conclude with a prayer from the Holy Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church: We thank you, Father almighty, who did prepare for us the holy Church as a haven, a temple of holiness, where the name of the holy Trinity is glorified. Alleluia. We thank you, Spirit of Truth, who have renewed the holy Church. Keep her without blemish through the faith in the Trinity forevermore. Amen.

Conduit

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Armodoxy for Today: Conduit

Every effect needs a conduit to carry its cause. Jesus brought a message of hope, love and peace. His message was and is that the Kingdom of God is accessible to all. He established the Church to share this message here on Earth. In essence, the Church is the medium by which Jesus reaches us. Through an oral tradition, the Scriptures took form. Languages were created and codified to transmit the message. Icons, paintings and stained glass allowed for visualization in artistic imagery that stimulated imagination. Music, hymns gave a beat and melody to the message. Churches with spires reaching the heavens were erected so that the hands and legs of Christ could reach the poor and the hurting, through hospitals, orphanages and homes. In essence, the Church is the conduit by which Jesus reaches us.

As we approach the feast of Pentecost this coming Sunday, the lessons from Scripture point to the importance of the Church in defining Christianity. The stories of the early Church are recorded in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. Here we see how a small band of diverse people, who the system considered appalling, and even escalating them to enemy status, and whose leaders were sentenced to death, became the ones who carried and delivered the most influential and important message of all human history.

And it all begins with the “Great Commission” at Jesus’ Ascension: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

When we refer to the Apostolic Church, we are talking about the Church that links itself to this event and becomes the conduit to deliver the goods. Each of those eleven (and later 12 with the addition of Mathias) went to different areas in the world. Peter went to Rome, Thomas to India, Matthew to Ethiopia, Jude Thaddeus to Armenia, just to mention four of them. Each to carry out the commission. They ended up in areas that were hostile to their message and them, as we know all of them were martyred, except for John who ended up exiled on an Island.

And by the Power of the Holy Spirit, ordination, that is, the laying on of hands, this conduit continues to today, in the deacons, priest, and bishops, entrusted to keep the lines clear to ensure delivery. Yes, you are connected.

A prayer from the Orthodox Tradition to the Holy Spirit, Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life: come and abide in us, cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, O Good One. Amen.

Prepping for Business

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Armodoxy for Today: Business Model

Many clergymen cringe when they hear someone mention the word business next to their church. It is insulting, they think, to refer to the church as a business. Understandably, if the Church is ordained by Christ, and is the dwelling place of God, it should not be tainted with models from the college MBA textbook. God should take care of His Church and speaking of a business model which brings tangible returns can be seen as anathema.

When I was growing up, as I was contemplating the priesthood, I had a conversation with my parish priest, Fr. Krikor Hairabedian (of blessed memory), who shared his understanding of the Church. He said, if Christ is the head of the Church, then he is the “boss.” Why would I worry about any of the tangible matters? God will take care of His Church. And Fr. Krikor proceeded to tell me how throughout his own lifetime, God had always taken care of every one of his needs. Needless to say, Fr. Krikor was a man of great faith. Now, 40+ years into my priesthood, I often think about that conversation with the good priest and can attest the same with my experience in the Church. “The Lord is my shepherd,” says the psalmist (23) and follows up with a declaration, “I shall not want.”

There is a mystical dimension to the Church that overlaps the material Body of Christ. And certainly, it is the formula by which the Armenian Church has “worked” for the last 2000 years. God is in charge, and everything falls into place and is taken care of.

The material Body of Christ is what functions on Earth. It is the legs, the arms, the mouth, the voice of Christ in the here and now. As such, it needs material support. The word “business” refers to the actual mechanism by which the work gets accomplished. Yes, we shy away and cringe at the statement that the church is a business, but in fact it is. It’s goal, however, is not the physical wealth, but the spiritual soul that resides in every human being.

A business – say a restaurant, insurance company or a department store – has as its ultimate goal the creation of more wealth. It has an obligation to its investors to make a profit, however, along the way, it accomplishes other tasks, which we can call overt goals: the restaurant feeds hungry people, the insurance company provides security for families, and the department store furnishes clothing and goods for people. The Church follows the same model but the ultimate goals and the overt goals are swapped. That is the Church has as its goal the salvation of the soul and accomplishes this by the teaching the message of love that Christ demonstrated. Along the way, needs to take care of electric bills, property maintenance and pay for supplies. Calling it a business does not discount the participation of God, it merely establishes an order, a system by which things get accomplished.

During this period, between Ascension and the Pentecost in the post-Resurrection era, the Church was being formed. The order and the systems were being put into place to accomplish the greatest work of all, functioning as the Body of Christ.

We conclude today and these thoughts with the reading of the first Psalm:

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. (Psalm 1)

Photo: Gregory Beylerian, 2014

Heaven Within and Without

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Armodoxy for Today: Heaven all Around

In our last Armodoxy message I mentioned that the Ascension, as described in the Acts of the Apostles, drew the Disciples’ attention upward as they watched Jesus ascend to heaven. Of course, words such as Ascension, ascending, and their derivative, are defined as spatially upward.

But as Jesus teaches, heaven is not merely found up, it is also around, within and without. St. Luke writes, “When Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ’See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

The “Great Commission” as it is called, is the direction Jesus gives to his Apostles just before he ascends to heaven. St. Matthew records the event, remembering that only eleven of the original twelve disciples (less Judas) made up the disciple’s group. We read:

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

Jesus commissions the eleven to continue his sacred work. When we understand Heaven all around us, we appreciate that the Holy Church which Jesus establishes, is reflective of Heaven. We start understanding that the Christian message is projected to the world, to all nations. There is no exception. There is no “favored nation status” for any one or any country. It is a command that his message is universal, and God is of the universe.

When we look up or upward to find Heaven, we miss the Heaven that is around us. We fail to see God’s presence in the flowering petals of a rose, in the miracle of life that is defined by the majestic animals of land and sea, or in the look of hope in the eyes of the child sitting on our lap. We forget that the people we live with and inhabit this planet with, are all created in that same image and carry the God-seed. “Our Father” means we are all brothers and sisters and the natural direction for our attention is to seek peace with one another.

Heaven is peace on earth and good will toward one another.

We pray, Our Father, who is in heaven, open my heart to Your Love, so that I may find You in the people I meet and the relationships I build. Keep me away from selfish desires, so that I may see Your presence all around me, in the Heaven that is within and without me. Amen.

Cover Photo: KTN, 2022