A veteran is a person who has had long experience in a particular field. Generically, we use the word to refer to military personnel, especially those who actively served in the military. The veteran is someone who loves country much more than his or her life. That is, the veteran is willing to lay down his or her life for the country, for something that is greater than the self.
In the Gospel of John (15), Jesus say, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” He is referring to his own sacrifice, and his words define true love as a function of selflessness. He places value on friendship (harmonious living with one another). That value is measured by life itself – a willingness to sacrifice life for the benefit of the greater good. The sacrifice made by veterans has the greatest value of anything or any action, because the measuring “currency” is more precious than silver, gold and even platinum. That’s why we refer to it as paying the ultimate price: life itself.
Veteran’s Day is celebrated today. It is yet another chance for self-evaluation. There is a simple test to take on this day. Ask yourself, what are the things that are most important to me? What are the things for which I would be willing to give up my life. Now ask yourself, if I’m willing to die for it, am I willing to live for it?
If we are willing to die for Christ, then the more important question we must ask ourselves is, am I willing to live for Christ? Armodoxy is the proof that living out Christian principles is much harder than dying for them.
We pray Psalm 27, The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shalI I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after, “That I may dwell in the house of the Lord, that will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/an-American-flag-standing-on-a-hill-with-men-and-women-silhouetted-saluting-the-flag.jpg10241024Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-11-11 00:01:482024-11-10 20:30:18Veterans’ Day
During elections, such as the one we just had in the United States, questions about democracy and freedom always surface. Democracy in America has been referred to as an experiment because there are so many variables at play that can influence the outcome. All of these variables come in the form of human decisions and reactions, which raises the number of possible results exponentially. The brilliance of the U.S. Constitution is that it puts into place a system of checks and balances. For about 250 years democratic principles of equal rights, general suffrage and government by the people have been tested and tried, retested and retried. The system is far from perfect, but still, the move forward is to strive for the “goal” as outlined by the Constitution.
The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, claims that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
These words are beautifully and thoughtfully crafted at a time when independence was only a dream for a group who had escaped the tyranny and ties of the Crown. Within the Declaration of Independence cries of human suffering can be heard. True religion has advocated for human rights, and has been a voice for freedom and liberty, during oppressive history.
The Armenian Church has lived within monarchies, kingdoms, dictatorships, oppressive and barbaric regimes, and even through atheistic Soviet society. The Gospel Message of Christ is greater than any political ideology and must maintain its integrity despite the political climate of the age. The Gospel is a message of freedom is unlike any liberty that can be offered by governments or political entities. The Gospel is given to us by Jesus Christ, the Great Liberator. In the worst of situations, a person can be free. In the most lucrative and decorative lifestyles, a person may be imprisoned.
When reflecting on political realities and events that affect and ultimately control life, equality, oppression, human suffering and liberation, take a moment to first reflect on you – us – and our commitment to ideals greater than ourselves. What are the true restrictions that are placed on our lives? What is it that oppresses us? Where is our liberation?
The Armenian Church refers to the message of Jesus as “ansud khosdum,” that is, His words that cannot lie. In that context of absolute truth, the Armenian Church has presented His message, I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Put the pieces together and you realize that that abundance is beyond physical measurements. It is in this central message of Liberation that the Armenian Church – Armodoxy – came to guide and direct the people through suffering and oppression. The greatest expression of Liberty is when we use our God-given power to create our own lives.
We pray today, Heavenly Father, bless those who bless you. Give wisdom to those who lead. Keep us vigilant in our commitment to pursue that which is necessary, namely life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Keep us focused on our commitment to work for peace on earth, harmony and understanding between us and our fellow human being. Amen.
In one of his campaign speeches, Vice Presidential nominee, Tim Walz, reminded us of a nice tradition that exists at the end of team sports. At the end of a game, one team wins, and another loses, yet both teams find their way to the middle of the playing field and acknowledge their opponent with a handshake or hand bump, while proclaiming “Good game” as they pass by the person that had perhaps tackled them or fouled a ball out of their hand. Walz, who was a high school teacher and coached the football team, said that this tradition promoted sportsmanship. At the end of the game, both teams acknowledge one another with the words “Good game.”
Soccer and water polo were the games of choice in our house. I remember several times when I watched my kids play hard and play their hearts out against a team only to lose. You could tell that the thought of going up to their opponent and saying “Good game” was uncomfortable and verging on protest. But the rules of the league prevailed, and we’d watch the kids go through this ritual and we parents would soon follow the line and nod to the parents on the other team. Sometimes when the competition was extremely fierce and you’d watch the other parents humiliate themselves and their children by yelling and screaming on the side lines, you really didn’t feel like shaking hands with these people, but, what’s good for the children is also good for the parents. And so, we’d offer a Good-Game-bump to our counterparts. It was a simple lesson in sportsmanship that we all knew was necessary as a lesson in life.
As the elections came to a close yesterday, one candidate reached out to the other and conceded the election. Her concession remarks were dignified and reminded me of the way things used to be.
There is nothing uniquely Christian about dignity, sportsmanship, or courtesy. These traits belong to the family of humanity. They are classified under civility and by definition are the foundation of civilization – our ability to work together. In Armenian, kaghakavar or kaghakagrtutiun comes from the same root word, civil. As Armodoxy attests, the message given to us at the beginning of Christ’s ministry is heard from the angels, “Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward one another.” The purpose of all true religion is to seek harmony and understanding among people. And ours is to be a reminder of this simple truth – perhaps with a handshake, or a hand bump, or simply to acknowledge another by proclaiming, You played a good game.
From the Book of Hours of the Armenian Church we pray, Peace and life, Only Begotten Son of God, give us Your peace, that You grant to Your holy apostles by breathing into them Your life-giving and all-powerful Holy Spirit, so that having found our peace from worldly commotions, we may become a temple and an inhabitation of Your grace, and may give thanks to You together with the Father and Holy Spirit. Amen.
After I turned in my ballot today, the attendant gave me a sticker with the words, “I VOTED” in large white caps screaming patriotically across a back drop of red and blue. In much smaller print, the same statement was made in 15 other languages, including Armenian – Ես քվեարկել եմ – and as if that small bit of reinforcement for my action was not enough, the attendant then turned to me and said, “Thank you for voting.”
I’m very observant when it comes to manners and appreciate a “please” here and a “thank you” there, but this “Thank you for voting” seemed a bit out of place, just enough to get my mind wandering. And thank you for working at the polling place, right? Why wouldn’t I vote? I’ve been voting since I turned 18 and my grandmother gave me an application, ordering me to fill it out. Voting was serious business for her!
All four of my grandparents were genocide survivors. They arrived on the shores of the United States in the 1920s after being exiled from their homes in historic Armenia. They left the oppressive regime of the Ottoman Turks. They lost parents, children and family members in violent and inhumane acts perpetrated upon them during the Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1923. America was a safe haven, a place where potentials could be exploited thanks to a freedom to pursue your dreams. They took their citizenship seriously and exercised their right to vote. It was always interesting to me, that they never took freedom for granted.
I remember my grandparents talking about America in grateful terms. America has no obligation to us, they would say, and yet, she opens her doors and gives us an opportunity to live and prosper in peace. Long before Kennedy phrased it, that early generation of immigrants lived it: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. And they did. They lived, worked, struggled, paid their taxes, served in the military, and took any opportunity they could to thank God for America. I wondered if my grandparents had read those Armenian words on the sticker would have felt that now they had arrived? Or perhaps they would have taken it more in stride and wondered why all the fuss? Of course, we voted!
Throughout the election season, I often thought of my grandparents, their generation and the America which gave them sanctuary. I cross compared their attitudes and now ours, and just how much we take for granted. I also thought of the great American experiment and how fragile it is, and can it survive being taken for granted?
Today as we pray, our prayer is no different than any other that I’ve taught here on Armodoxy for Today. It’s not about God interceding and helping our economy or shielding us against bombs, it’s a prayer for wisdom forus – the people who live and work here – to wake up and never take this freedom for granted; to build up this sanctuary which houses hopes and gives opportunities for dreams. It’s in our hands.
From St. Nersess Shnorhali’s 11th hour of worship, Jesus, Wisdom of the Father, grant us your wisdom, to think, speak and do that which is good in your sight. Save me from evil thoughts, words and deeds. Have mercy on all your creatures and on me. Amen.
The term “virtual” has taken on some new meaning in the last few decades with the popularity of the internet. It is used to describe something that does not physically exist but is made by software to appears as if it does. That describes the way most Armenians understand Mount Ararat.
The mountain range is easily visible from the moment one arrives in Armenia at the Zvartnots Airport and shows itself especially nicely from the capital city of Yerevan. And if by chance the air is foggy or misty, and a cloud covering hides the mountain, Ararat is seen on logos of coffee shops, souvenirs and just about any type of clothing accessory one can imagine. Most homes have a picture of the twin-peaked mountain hanging somewhere in the house. And if you’re a visitor to Armenia, you receive a small ink graphic of Ararat stamped in your passport when you arrive. I mention this as an oddity because the Ararat Mountain is not in the borders of Armenia. Currently, that land is occupied by Turkey and exists within its borders on internation maps. But Mount Ararat is purely Armenian as is attested by the name itself.
Ararat is the theme of songs, and poems. Even during the Soviet years (1920-1991) when nationalism was played down or discouraged with the large scale punishment, Ararat was the theme of poem and prose. Armenia’s beloved poet, Yeghishé Charents wrote the words that are recited and sung; and they even stretch across a picturesque arch saying, “Travel the world and there is no white capped peak as beautiful as Ararat … it is the road to glory, unreachable, I love Mount Masis.” (another name for Ararat).
For Armenians, Mount Ararat is a national symbol. It’s our mountain and it always will be. This feeling is so strongly reinforced in the collective consciousness of the people that we – Armenians – often forget that the mountain’s claim-to-fame on the international scene is thanks to a reference in the Book of Genesis chapter 8, as the resting place of Noah’s Ark.
A few years back, I was invited to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in Nashville, Tennessee. It is considered a “mission parish” meaning that there is no permenent priest to pastor the small flock. A dear friend picked us up from the airport and on our way to the services we flew past an exit sign on the freeway boldly marked, “Ararat Cemetery next right.” A big smile came on my face. The sign, and the cemetery it pointed to, were indicators that there were Armenians in Tennessee. Any congregation that was running a cemetery must be ready to have graduated from mission parish status. Of course, I was operating on the notion that Ararat implied Armenian.
As we got closer to the cemetery, the sign read, “Ararat Baptist Cemetery.” It was, in fact, run by the local Baptist Church with absolutely no Armenian ties or overtones. The name pointed to the Biblical Mountain which is accepted by all of Christendom.
Much of what we believe, we are conditioned to believe. I’ve spent my entire life associating things labeled “Ararat” – from the local nursing home, to the bubbly water, from the restaurant to a type of slippers, to the cognac – with the Armenian nation. If we had not taken an extra step to take a closer look at the sign, I would have lived with the illusion of believing Tennessee had an Armenian cemetery. Issues of the faith are even more important than discovering what’s under a label. Whether a cemetery or an article of faith, take a moment to go beyond the label.
We pray from the Book of Hours, “Heavenly King, my soul is in Your care at all times and I trust in Your holy Cross. I have the multitude of saints as my intercessors before You. You are forbearing toward all, do not disregard those who rely on You, but protect them with peace by Your precious and Holy cross. Amen.
Armodoxy for Today: An Armenian Seminary in Armonk
In New York State, very close to the Connecticut border, there is a small town of almost 3,500 residents called Armonk. It’s an interesting name indeed, considering there is an Armenian monastery in this town, that might have you believe the town was named as a tribute to Armenian monastics, as in, Armenian + monk, shortened to, Armonk. But, like most New England settlements, there is a history to the town that predates the arrival of Armenians to the shores of the United States. But the history that concerns us today is not the town but the Armenian Seminary, sprawled over 5.5 acres in this town. I had a chance to visit St. Nersess Armenian Seminary and meet with seminarians over the weekend.
The St. Nersess Armenian Seminary was established in 1961 by the Eastern and Western Dioceses of the Armenian Church. It was the brainchild of Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan, of blessed memory (1904-1989). Archbishop Tiran was a visionary who understood that the needs of the Armenian Church in America and its congregants are unique. Preparing clergy to meet those needs must come from within the community. St. Nersess was first opened in Evanston, Illinois and moved to New Rochelle, New York until the 2012 when the move was made to the Armonk campus. There is a link to the Seminary’s website where you can read about its history and programs. https://stnersess.edu/about/our-history/
Diocesan bishops set the guidelines for candidates who are pursuing a ministry in the priesthood. After undergraduate studies, a candidate may earn his post graduate degree through the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary and then further his studies at one of the hierarchical seas. The instruction they receive at St. Nersess augments their studies with specific lessons in Armenian Church theology, patristics, history, homiletics and liturgics. Most importantly, as I witnessed in my visit with the seminarians, St. Nersess offers an environment where young men can be with like-minded people, in an atmosphere of prayer, contemplation and comradery. In our secularized society, this in itself is enough to celebrate the importance of St. Nersess in the life of the Armenian Church in America. A priest’s life can be a lonely one, but God fills that loneliness with friendships that revolve around the Gospel of Love.
In the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 10) Jesus sends His Disciples “out like sheep among wolves.” And admonishes them to, “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
The priests of tomorrow will be coming from our midst. In a world that is filled with lies, deception and false narratives, the children of today and tomorrow are in search of the most basic element of life, namely Truth. The Armenian Church has offered that Truth for the last 2000 years in presenting Jesus Christ – “The Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6) – to its people. And today it is being heralded to the world.
Today, we offer a prayer for our priests and those contemplating the priesthood, O Jesus, our great High Priest, hear my humble prayers on behalf of your priests. Give them a deep faith, a bright and firm hope and a burning love which will ever increase in the course of their priestly life. In their loneliness, comfort them. In their sorrows, strengthen them. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IMG_0359-1.jpeg15762548Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-11-04 00:01:022024-11-03 22:29:41An Armenian Seminary in Armonk
Every good real estate agent can tell you that the number one rule in real estate is location, location, location. Repeating it three times emphasizes its importance. Identical homes can increase or decrease in value due to their location. So choose location wisely when purchasing.
The same rule holds true in life with the exception that in life only one of the three locations is chosen by us, the client, while the other two are more of chance landings. We are all born into this world – into this life – without our consent. We have no choice as to when or where we are born. On the other end, we may feel we have more to say about our death, but often it takes place without our consent. The only location that we have control over is the third one, which is the life spent between birth and death.
This three location reality is best understood by glancing at a gravestones. Most of them have three symbols etched on them. The first is the person’s date of birth. We have no control over when or where we are born. The second location is the date of death. The third symbol is the dash that separates the date of birth from the date of death. That dash represents our lives and is the only section of life that is mostly in our control. Some dashes are short others are long, but the real quality of the dash is its thickness.
Life and how we live it is up to us. It is the dash – the life we live – that has meaning
Once a young seminarian in a monastery, in a display of youthful pride, decided to play a trick on the one of the oldest and wisest monks. He held a butterfly in his hand and brought his fingers together to cover the small insect. He asked the monk if the butterfly was dead or alive? He thought to himself, if the elderly man answers alive, I will crush the butterfly and prove him wrong. If he answers dead, I will open my fist and the butterfly will fly out. Either way the monk will be wrong and humiliated because the young student had shown him wrong.
Approaching the monk, the young man held the captive butterfly in his fist behind his back. “Old man, tell me, is the butterfly I am holding, dead or alive?” The old monk, not to be tricked replied, “The answer is in your hand.”
Maturity of Faith, which is the theme of this week, requires us to take responsibility for our lives, to recognize that God has entrusted us with our lives and it’s up to us to be part of the answer to, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” We are the ones who fatten the dash – the life between our birth and life – and we take the responsibility on whether the butterfly flies or is crushed.
Let us pray, Lord help me to understand your love through the trust you have put into our humble efforts. tremendous trust you have in me and in humanity. Give me the strength to stand responsibly before you as I follow your commandments and do that which is pleasing in your sight. Amen.
Not only do elections take place every day, but several elections also take place within a day of our life. Presidents, congresspersons and mayors get the title of “elected” official, but our election process, that is, the choices we make, extends far beyond the political circuit. We choose friends to hang with, schools to attend, neighborhoods to lives, theaters where we are entertains, physicians to tend to our sick and meals to fill our tummies. The election process – whether for elected official or for the book that will be by our side for the next week or two – that process is an expression of our freedom. To be free means having the ability to choose and to choose otherwise.
The choice to do or not to do is the definition of freedom!
Armenians have suffered the loss of freedom to different would-be conquerors. Even in the harshest of conditions, they did not give up the right to choose and chose the path of God. From the time of Vartan in the 5th century, to atrocities witnessed under Ottoman rule, to the atheism of the 20th century Soviet Union, the choice for God through the power of Christ was the motto of the Armenian Orthodox Church. Armodoxy develops in this world of contradictions, amidst the most oppressive conditions, the election of Christ Centeredness is the power to which Armodoxy attests. It is a simple election for life, for the goal of “Peace on Earth, and goodwill toward all.” (Luke 2:14)
From the Book of Hours, the Zhamakirk, of the Armenian Church we pray, We bless you, Almighty Lord, for always accompanying those who call to You with faithful and righteous hearts. We beseech You, O Lord, to lead and guide Your servants on this journey so that we may be reunited with our loved ones in peace. For You belong the power and glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Last weekend the Armenian Church celebrated the “Discovery of the Holy Cross of Christ.” As I prepared my Sunday sermon, an email crossed my desktop from one of the churches. The subject line heralded, “Discovery of the Cross, this weekend.” I read the first few lines of the message from a well-meaning soul. It spoke of the most inspiring story of Queen Helena who searched and found the Cross of Christ. I kept reading the story looking to see where this was going. It didn’t. It was a very nice history lesson from the 4th century and it pointed to one of the real dilemmas we face in the Orthodox churches: How to tie the history lesson with life today?
On the one hand, the story has to be told. After all, if not us, the Church, then who will tell this story? On the other hand, what do characters from 1,700 years ago, their exploration of lands in search of the Cross of Christ, have to do with our daily concerns inflation, wars and threats of nuclear annihilation, intolerance on every level, and personal issues of health care and broken relationship? The challenge I face as a priest is, how can I tell the stories from our tradition in a manner that will share the Gospel?
There used to be a Labor Day tradition called the “Jerry Lewis Telethon for muscular dystrophy.” Every year, for a couple of days, entertainer Jerry Lewis would stay up for days in front of television cameras, host guests, share stories and, most importantly, solicit donations for the fight against muscular dystrophy. Throughout the years he collected over $2.4Billion for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. After years and years of carrying on this tradition, I remember reading a story saying that Jerry Lewis had been dismissed from his position and would not be conducting the telethon. Can you imagine, an organization dismissing a person who was responsible for raising over $2Billion for the organization? In a statement, the head of the Muscular Dystrophy Association said something to the effect, In a 140-character world, we can’t justify a telethon of several days! In other words, the 140 character world of Twitter was defining the mode of communications, and therefore the funding of the organization.
And hence, our dilemma in the Church. How to we package the story and the message in the least amount of characters and stay faithful to our calling of spreading the Gospel?
Armodoxy addresses this dilemma by not discounting the story but emphasizing the message that the story yields for us today. Without the bridge to today, it is yet another history lesson that can be received from a textbook or a lecture. Armodoxy is looking at the world today through the lens of the Tradition of Armenian Orthodoxy.
Queen Helena left everything to search for the Cross of Christ. Why did she leave the comforts of her royal palace to go through garbage piles at Golgotha, looking for a wooden instrument of torture and capital punishment? Can you imagine in 400 years, someone going through dumps looking for the needle of a vial of lethal injection? We can’t, it’s ridiculous. Yet, that’s exactly what Queen Helena did. She did so because the One who was killed by that torture was the key to salvation. And what she found is what we find today when we look for and discover the Holy Cross.
The Cross, in Armenian Orthodoxy, is the symbol of love. Unlike what Hallmark and Hollywood try to sell us with an emphasis on the heart and the little fat angels with bows and arrows, the true symbol of love is the cross. On The Cross Christ expressed the greatest expression of Love, and in a day and age that is hurting from all sides, the quest for Love begins with each of us. We can’t find what we do not search. The message today is not about finding the Cross, but discovering, that is, searching for the Cross in our lives by searching for Love in our lives. Take it as a challenge to not be scared to search, with body, soul and mind.
Pray the prayer of St. Nersess Shnorhali, O Searcher of secrets, I have sinned against you, willingly and inadvertently, knowingly and unknowingly. Grant me forgiveness, a sinner, since from my birth through the holy baptism, until this day, I have sinned before you Lord. Have mercy on me. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cross-heart.jpg11051122Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-10-30 00:01:402024-10-29 16:30:35When $2Billion Plus is Not Enough
After trick-or-treating the neighborhood and snapping enough pictures to keep the memories going beyond the evening and season, the custom of opening the bag, inspecting and sampling the treasure takes place. The first step, though, is removing the mask off of your face, to better enjoy the goodies.
The masks we wear in life come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The masks we wear at Halloween are celebratory, they are part of the fun and excitement of the evening. The most beautiful young face can be distorted into something so old and hideous, and vice versa. The masks we wear after Halloween are the ones that we need to examine for they are easy hiding places for our true nature. We wear one mask at home and another at work. The mask we wear as a husband or wife might be different from the mask of a friend. The one we wear as parent speaking with our children might be different than the mask we wear speaking with our parents. One mask may be that of the boss and the other of the faithful employee. We wear masks to fit the occasion.
At the end of the day, we remove our masks, and usually do so in front of a mirror. What we see is the maskless self – the one that looks back at us and the one who’s stare we cannot escape.
When we talk about an all-knowing and all-seeing God, we understand He has the unique vantage point of seeing through our masks, no matter how many and how layered they may be. In this sense, it’s like the mirror-stare, in that we can’t escape His view. To open the bag of “goodies of life” and enjoy the treats within, that view – unhindered, unobscured, is the God view that is the same view from a clean and receptive heart.
The prayer of St. Nersess says (#9) Lord, Protector of all, instill Your holy fear in me that my eyes may not look lustfully, that my ears may not delight in hearing evil, that my mouth may not speak lies, that my heart may not think evil, that my hands may not do injustice, that my feet may not walk in the paths of iniquity. But direct all my actions that I do your will in everything. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cover-919.jpg11461125Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-10-29 00:01:352024-10-28 21:38:02Beneath the Masks
