Thousand Word Pictures Alive

Armodoxy for Today: 1000 Word Pictures of St. Sarkis

Over the weekend we commemorated St. Sarkis, in the Armenian Church. Throughout the year there are several saints that are remembered on the Church calendar. St. Sarkis is one of the more revered saints. He is a fourth century personality who served as a warrior in the Roman army at a time when Christianity was spreading through the Empire.

Yesterday I shared with you the story of St. Sarkis, as the Armodoxy message of the Day. Instead of covering the episode with a picture of St. Sarkis the warrior, donning the battle gear and weaponry, I placed a picture of a couple looking into the “fantasy” mirror, imagining themselves decked out in elegant clothing standing before a high-end car.

Every now and then I like to provide an explanation, especially to those new to Armodoxy and just as a reminder to those who may think we erred in finding a cover picture. The messaging we refer to as Armodoxy, takes the form of stories and imagery that point to expressions of the ancient stories articulated in our lives today. St. Sarkis, or any of the saints we commemorate, is a character in history. They have biographies that can be search and discovered in books, pages on-line, virtual queries and in just about every church weekly bulletin. The challenge for us has been and continues to be, how to raise the historical figure off of the pages of the history book in such a way that his or her life becomes a model of living today.

As I mentioned yesterday, Christians are being persecuted daily for their beliefs. We may not see the swords of the emperors or outright proclamations by Kings, but the weapons that strike us are just as deadly. We succumb to the lure of materialism, believing that our possessions define us and growing indifferent to the plight of others. With a contempt for Christ’s call to love, we sign our own death sentence.

Saints are the expression of life lived for Christ. Armodoxy is the witness to the relevancy of that expression in our life today.

We end with St. Nersess Shnorhali’s prayer of the fourth hour, where in the same spirit he refers to the thief on the cross next to Christ’s as one to touches us today. Son of God, true God, who descended from the bosom of the Father, and took flesh of the Holy Virgin Mary for our salvation, who was crucified and buried, and rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before You; remember me like the robber, when You come in Your kingdom. Amen.