Voices that Lead

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Roots of Armodoxy: Voices that lead

Most people would not want to admit they have been hearing voices in their head. Not so with Fr. Grigor, the priest at one of the local parishes inside of Yerevan. He’s very open about hearing the voices now, but not when he first heard them. It scared him. He thought he should seek psychiatric help. It was a voice he heard when he was using one of the hand crosses during services in his church.

In Armenian Church tradition, a small (4 to 6 inch) ornate cross is held by the priest during services and is referred to as a hand cross. It is used to bless items, objects and especially sacraments, such as baptisms, weddings and of course the Holy Eucharist. The cross itself is attached to a short rod which is how the priest holds the cross.

This particular cross that Fr. Grigor held was in the church when he took over the pastorate. On the four points of the cross – two on the vertical member, top and bottom, and two on the horizontal, sometimes referred to as the arms of the cross – are four translucent stones. And in the center, where the vertical and horizontal members intersect, there is the fifth stone. He shared with us that every time he used this cross to offer a blessing, he would hear a voice saying that the cross belonged in one of the side altars and that he should place it there. Just as he had resigned himself to the fact of seeking some professional help, the small company of the archeologists were sent over the church to the inventory and study some of the ancient artifacts. The Matendaran in Yerevan houses the largest collection of ancient Armenian manuscripts is interested in artifacts and relics from antiquity.

The experts examined the cross and carefully removed the translucent stones to discover under the arms and the top and bottom stones, there were small relics from four different saints, along with notations. The holy relics of saints are venerated in the Armenian Church, as they are charged with the energy of the saints. But still, the voices persisted with Fr. Grigor until the team removed the center stone under which was the unexpected: a piece of Christ’s Cross!

In the center of this cross which had blessed and energized people, protected the poor, the sick and the lonely, and swabbed the merriment of families, the Cross of Jesus Christ lay flat, and untouched and undisturbed. Fr. Grigor admitted that the cross had been used during baptisms and were certainly exposed the elements, at the very least water. Yet, the wood was intact, along with the inscription left there by pious members of the church centuries ago.

The voices stopped. The experts authenticated the Cross and now its blessing had been discovered. Fr. Grigor placed it, as the voice had instructed him, in a place of honor, inside the side altar. Once a year, on the celebration of the Discovery of the Cross (in October) the Cross is removed from its place and processed through the faith people. The church is the Asdvadzadzin (=Holy Mother of God) but referred to as Zoravor (the might one) because of the awesome power which emanates from this simple church.

It should be noted that in the Armenian Church, the Cross is the symbol of Love. Unlike the heart made popular in the West, for the Armenian Church, Love is expressed by sacrifice. The Cross represents that sacrifice. And so, when a blessing is given by the cross, an exchange of love takes place, with Jesus Christ as the author and incarnation of Love.

Today we pray, Holy Mother of God, you are most powerful, zoravor, because you have given the world Love through Jesus Christ. May we be protected under the shadow of His Holy and Precious Cross in peace, delivered from enemies visible and invisible. May we always glorify the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Eternity at Datev

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Roots of Armodoxy: Datev

Albert Einstein’s E=mc2 is one of the most recognized scientific notations by non-scientists. At most, people know it has something to do with time and space, though the mechanics escapes them. At the least, people know it is connected to Einstein and the theory of relativity. Around the same time Einstein was putting together the formulas for the general theory of realtify, American write, Henry Van Dyke was stating the relativity of time in these terms, “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” That’s right, time is relative. It moves according to the vantage point of the observer.

At the end of time is eternity. It is difficult to accept and impossible to comprehend. Eternity exists in the absence of time, and as such is goes counter to all of our natural experiences. We may use words and phrases such as forever-and-ever but they describe time, not eternity. One such place where we come close to touching eternity, however, is at the monastery of Datev* or Datevivank. It is found in the Syunik Province in southeastern Armenia. Nestled in the forests, atop a hill, the Monastery is a marvel of Armenian architecture. Stone-placed-upon-stone, the shell of the church holds within it a very sacred space where the energy is so strong that time seems to be bent. While at Datevivank, you can experience eternity because time is absent. Though the structure itself is finite, inside you lose yourself to the marvel of faith that has constructed this shrine.

Datev is the reason why people look up when they think of heaven or eternity. On this hilltop some of the greats of the Armenian Church have lived and been inspired, including St. Gregory of Datev (14th century) who is entombed inside the sanctuary. He was a theologian and philosopher whose influence on the church is felt to this very day. During the early part of the 20th century, as the Genocide was coming to an end, the Datev Monastery was the inspiration and backdrop for greats such as Garegin Njteh as he chartered out the course for a new and independent Armenia, with his priorities expressed in a trilogy of ideas, God, the Nation and the Fatherland.

As we were visiting this bit of heaven on earth, a service uniting heaven and earth was taking place. The head of the monastery, Fr. Michael was administering the sacrament of baptism on a young boy of nine or 10 years of age. The boy’s godfather was a worker from one of the local villages. Those in attendance to witness the Christening were the boy’s immediate family and us, a group of pilgrims open to the blessing that may come our way.

Fr. Michael baptized and confirmed the boy with holy Miuron and then offered a prayer of thanksgiving, “We thank you Lord for replenishing your Church with this new servant of yours.” That word, “Replenishing” was the key to eternity. Here on this high peak, inside this monastery, in the witness of simple people, a miracle was taking place. Eternity was taking form; the continuity of space and time unfolded in our presence. At Datev we may not have comprehended eternity, but we did understand that eternity is not something to come but is in our midst right now. Henry David Thoreau expresses it concisely, “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.”

Fr. Michael turned to us and gave us a blessing. He is a simple monk of the Armenian Church who understands the power of uniting us with eternity. For those moments at Datev, we saw and were united to the vastness of eternity, and with the certainty of the continuity of life.

We pray today, “Heavenly Father, we say that to You belong the Kingdom of Eternity. May we be in your Divine presence, in that eternity, now, as well as forever. Amen.”

* The Armenian name Տաթեւ, maybe be transliterated into Latin characters as Datev or at Tatev.

Cover Photo: Fr. Vazken 2023

The Story

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Roots of Armodoxy: The Story

After your first visit to Armenia, and especially once you make the rounds to the monasteries and ancient sites, you can’t help but ask, how come no one knows about this?

You’re in the first Christian nation. You’re standing in front of the oldest Christian Cathedral on Earth at Holy Etchmiadzin, you’ve maneuvered through the caves at Geghart, you’ve entered into a pit where the Miracle of the Illuminator took place, and just about anywhere and everywhere you turn there are stories and sights that are, well to use a very crude but descriptive term, mind-blowing! You’ve watched your share of documentaries on Discovery and National Geographic, and this is your first glance at these sacred shrines and holy spaces, that have somehow escaped the curiosity of Hollywood producers. Where ever you look, there are stories waiting to be heard. You can’t help but make comparisons: Etchmiadzin is 800 years older than The Cathedral of Notre Dame, Karahounj predates Stonehenge by 5,000 years. The vortexes here pull more than they do in Sedona. Where am I and why am I just learning about this? you ask yourself.

Visiting Armenia is a journey. It is not about facts and figures but about the mysterious flow of energy that moves through this land. There is really no way of explaining or expressing the resilience and the supernatural means by which this country and its people have survived against adversity, except by resigning to the fact that this is a story that needs to be absorbed.

I was standing with a group pilgrims at one of the sacred spaces in Armenia when a group of tourists walked by and I heard the tour guide explain the history of the monastery that stood before us. She was good. She was young, born in Armenia, spoke and articulated herself in English and weaved the history together, just as you would expect to read it in a textbook. And then, she and her group moved on. Unfortunately, her group didn’t get the story behind this marvel of architecture and faith. They received the history, but the story was not there.

You’re in Armenia. It is a small, land-locked country, at the crossroads of three continents. It is inhabited by a peaceful group of people who have tapped into the Power of Christ, in their witness and expression. This Christ force, is expressed in its history and its story. That is what you witness in these sacred spaces and it is the reason why this place has survived atrocities, perils and even genocide.

The story is what we understand as Armodoxy, that is, the essence of the history with a connection to our lives today. Inside the monastery, the churches and the sacred sites, stone upon stone have absorbed the prayers, the candle drippings, the smoke of the incense and the tears and laughter of the people for centuries. This is the story that we tell. It’s no different than your life. You are not merely a list of historical events, but you have your candle drippings and incense filled walls as well. Yours is a story of relationships, dressed by love, hurt, pain and joy. You are who you are because of the friends who sat next to you, to the hand you extended to your children, the mother and father who disciplined you, the love that hurt you. That’s your story. Armenia has a story that is at the root of Armodoxy. It is why we understand Christianity as a power that can move mountains and heal the soul. Armenia is the living expression of the Christian experience, and every corner you turn, that power and that energy can and should be tapped into.

Tomorrow, we fly with “wings” up to the Datev Monastery, overlooking eternity.

We pray, “Lord our God, open my heart to the wonders that are around me. Allow me to find the Kingdom that is within and without me, so that my story becomes a part of the story of Life. Amen.”

Ararat

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The Roots of Armodoxy: Ararat

In stark contrast to the wonderful and joyous hospitality you’ll be extended as a tourist in Armenia, is your first encounter with its people, at the small passport control booth as you exit the plane and enter the country. This passport official in that small booth is not interested in chit-chat or idle conversation. Just the facts. A quick look up-and-down, and a few back-and-forths at the documents, and then relief! They have stamped your passport and so you enter into this amazing land of enchantment, dreams and surprises.

We’ll be looking at the surprises that Armenia holds in this series of daily podcasts, called the Roots of Armodoxy here on Epostle.net. And the first surprise is in the document that you hold, in your newly stamped passport!

You look at the stamp, that identifies the date of your entry and directly at the top of the stamp is a drawing of a mountain with two peaks, one small and one large. For me, and I assume for many Armenians who have grown up with the double peaks, its recognized as the symbol of the Biblical Mount Ararat. In fact, its so recognizable to Armenians that the element of surprise might escape you.

Mount Ararat is identified in the Bible, Genesis 8:4, as the resting place of Noah’s Ark following the great flood. Whereas Genesis 2:10 locates the Garden of Eden in Armenia, we discover that the second change for the cradle of civilization is once again in Armenia at Mount Ararat.

Armenians are described as the people who inhabit the land at the base of Mount Ararat. Politics being what it is, has the mountain within the borders of Turkey today, but it is the Armenian mountain, so much so, that on this legal document, on this internationally recognized and accepted passport, the symbol of the country is Mount Ararat. Surprised? The root of both the mountain and the people is the same, the “Ar,” just as it is for everything that is essential, such as the sun, “arev.”

Poet Yeghishe Charents proclaims, travel around the world and there is no peek such as Ararat. I’ve been to both sides of Mount Ararat. When seen from the other side, the majesty of the peaks is just not there. Viewed from Yerevan, Armenia, Mount Ararat is overwhelming and grand, like a mother forever present in the life of her children, witnessing the struggles, the pains, the joys and triumphs they experience.

Ararat sets the tone for the journey through this sacred and inspiring land. Here is a small area, occupied by a people who sit at the crossroads of three continents, who have been trampled and bullied by invaders and barbarians. And yet, with no military strategy that weighs on the world theater, this group of people continue to live and prosper, based on a Biblical game-plan, not of floods and disasters, but of resurrection. Armodoxy, brings that game-plan to our lives today. We begin with a visit to this holy land. Join me tomorrow as we continue on this journey – roots of Armodoxy.

For today, we conclude with Psalm 36, “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgements are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

Etchmiadzin, Center of Light

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Armodoxy for Today: The Road to the Center of Light – a five-part mini-series of daily messages dedicated to this special week in the life of the Armenian Church. Five days, five inspirations, five sparks that connect to shine the Christ Light.

Day 5: Holy Etchmiadzin. The final day of the week-long celebration of Armenia’s Conversion is the Feast of Holy Etchmiadzin. The hymn of Holy Etchmiadzin, includes the phrase, “Come, let us build the altar of Light.”

With the Conversion of Armenia, “The true Light which gives light to every man,” (John 1:9) lit up Armenia. Gregory and Tirtad, hand-in-hand, church-and-state, came together to spread the Gospel among the people. In a vision, Gregory saw Jesus Christ descend from heaven, pointing to four points, defining an area with a golden hammer. This is where the first Cathedral in all of Christendom was constructed. The word “Etchmiadzin” defines his vision, literally meaning the “Descent of the Only Begotten.

The week-long celebration, with the feasts of Saints Hripsimé, Gayané and Gregory, is capped with the proclamation that the Only Begotten Son of God, descended from heaven and became the Light which enlightened the Armenian soul. Throughout Armenia today, thousands of pilgrims converge on the monasteries of Hripsimé, Gayané and Khor-Virab, to commune with the essence of this story.  But early on in Armenian Church history, the pattern of celebration was instilled because the Christ Light had transformed the people. It was only 100 years later that the Church in Armenia commission the translation of the Holy Scriptures. For this task, a monk named Mesrob Mashdots invented the Armenian alphabet. With that alphabet the entire Bible was translated in a manner that is considered the “Queen of Translations” by Biblical Scholars. And subsequently the Armenian nation enjoyed a golden age of literature. Culture and education was the hallmark of this period, thanks to the Church.

Only 150 years after the Conversion, Armenia was forced into a war because of their commitment to Jesus Christ. The Battle of Vartanants is considered the first battle for the freedom of worship of Christianity in history. As a result, Christianity spread like wildfire. It wasn’t the last time Armenians stood up for their faith. They have been persecuted to the point of even Genocide and continue to be, because they carried the label, “Christian.”  Jesus invited us saying, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” That cross has been a heavy one for the Armenian people, but it has been its salvation. Abp. Hovnan Derderian has said, “Because of Holy Etchmiadzin, our presence as a nation and as a people is secure.”

Many try to dispose of the cross opting for the comforts of this world. Tragically, what they sacrifice is the fullness of life and the luster that comes from the Light.

His Holiness Karekin I, of blessed memory, once proclaimed “Etchmiadzin is Mission” and in that simple statement set a direction for us, every one of us, who comes in contact with the story. Like all of the history we communicate through Epostle, the story you heard in the mini-series, Etchmiadzin finds its true value when we connect to it with our life. The mission is ours, to proclaim the importance of Light amid the darkness. With wars, hatred, intolerance all around us, the Armenian story of Etchmiadzin gives the world a spark of hope, kindled by strength, fanned by difficulties, but grounded and lit in Jesus Christ.

This Sunday is the feast of Holy Etchmiadzin. Let us pray, O Lord, Jesus Christ, you touched us with the humblest of your messengers, a young girl who said, “No” to the great and powerful. In returned a nation and people discovered the True Light. You came into darkness, into the lives of people who weaved a tapestry of love, compassion, tolerance, patience, healing and resurrection. May we be a reflection of that Light, in all that we do. Guide us, O Lord, in the paths that promote love, compassion, tolerance and healing, so that we may be worthy of the blessing of the Peacemaker. In all things we thank and glorify you, along with the Father and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Tirtad, Fanning the Fire

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Day 4: In sharing the story of the great Revolution that brought Christianity to Armenia, we have used the metaphor of a fire that burnt away the pain and despair of the pagan world. Hripsimé was the spark, kindled by Gayané and Gregory the Illuminator was the necessary catalyst that made the fire glow. To all of the elements, we add one more, the air, or more concisely, the fanning of the flames, to make the fire grow!

Tirtad was the power in the kingdom of Armenia. As king, he was the sovereign over the land and ruled as absolute law. Royalty was revered and enjoyed respect from the citizens, albeit insincere, nevertheless, enough to keep the players in check. And so, he was feared by the common man.

In a story such as the conversion of Armenia, it is often easy to lose true heroes to their villainous personality. Tirtad, who ordered the conversion of Armenia to Christianity, was the same king who killed Hripsimé, Gayané and their companions. He ordered worship of pagan gods and goddesses and had no patience for disobedience. If we become overwhelmed with all the negative attributes of his person we can forget that this antagonist fanned the fire. The more Tirtad opposed, the stronger Gregory became.

We have heard adages about attitude, to remain positive in the face of adversity. We’ve heard expressions of making lemonade when given lemons, but to see it played out in a story such as this we realize it’s more than having a refreshing drink, but a means of survival, literally. Popular psychology calls this attitude adjustment, we in the Church refer to it as discipline, as having faith in God. Gregory’s sentence was capital punishment; Tirtad threw him into the pit to finish him off. Gregory didn’t fight the King, instead through a system of non-violent resistance, he overcame all the odds. He was disciplined. He used the tools given to him by God, prayer, meditation, fasting, staying focused and seeing God in the face of his adversaries, including Tirtad.

Our takeaway is to view attitude adjustments in terms of the tools given to us, such as prayer, meditation, fasting, staying focused and seeing God in the face of everyone. St. Gregory teaches us this lesson in response to the evil imposed on him by the King.

King Tirtad succumbed to a grave illness because of the horrors he imposed on the innocent sisters of the Gayané and Hripsimé. He was cured by the Illuminator, leading to the conversion of the nation. Plainly, Tirtad, the antagonist, is necessary for the story. He fanned the flames for the Christian Revolution to explode in Armenia. He is crowned a saint in the Armenian Church.

Let us pray, Christ our God, you crown your saints with triumph and do the will of all who love you, looking after your creatures with love and kindness. Hear us from your holy and heavenly realm by the intercession of the Holy Mother of God and by the prayers of all your saints, especially the King of Armenia who converted the nation to Christianity, St. Tirdat. Hear us Lord and show us your mercy. Forgive, redeem and pardon our sins. Make us worthy thankfully to glorify you with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Gregory, Catalyst

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Armodoxy for Today: The Road to the Center of Light – a five-part mini-series of daily messages dedicated to this special week in the life of the Armenian Church. Five days, five inspirations, five sparks that connect to shine the Christ Light.

Day 3: Gregory: Gayané kindled Hripsimé’s spark, but still, a catalyst was necessary to get the Revolution burning. Gregory was that catalyst, bringing the message of Christianity to the pagan world. He was the son of a Parthenian nobleman, and while his biographical details are laced with tragedy, including assassination, rejection and executions, for our purposes, we remember that Gregory, brought up in a Christian family, arrives in Armenia toward the end of the 3rd century, preaching the Gospel. He entered the King’s service and accomplished his tasks conscientiously. However, when asked to make offerings to the pagan gods, he refused, professing his faith in the one God revealed through Jesus Christ.

The King, Dirtad, did not tolerate his insubordination, and viewed Christianity (represented by Gregory) as a threat to the stability of his kingdom. He sentenced Gregory to death in a deep pit at the base of Mt. Ararat along the path of the Arax river. In Armenian this place is call խոր վիրապ (khor-virab), which is a literal translation of the words “deep pit.”

Gregory stood his ground. He did not resist evil, as he was instructed by Christ. He knew that the ways of the world could be sweet, but temporary. He did not give up His commitment to the Truth of Jesus Christ.

In the world we are always given options between the light and dark. While khor-virab is a place, and still attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year, khor-virab is also a metaphor in Armodoxy. It is the deep abyss and its darkness that blinds us to beauty and God’s wonders. In that darkness we follow the illusion of worldly wealth and remain ignorant to the love and compassion of family and friends. Physical death is what Gregory faced. We face spiritual death every day, and deliverance from that pit is available as it was for Gregory.

Gregory stayed firm in his commitment to Christ. He entered the pit as a death sentence only to walk out of it 13 years later, when the King Dirtad, suffering from a grave illness required healing. Gregory was kept alive with his prayers, his pious spiritual practices and the offering of the king’s sister, Khosrovitoukhd, who would bring scraps of food to the dungeon-pit sustain him.

Upon the king’s healing and recovery, Dirtad declared Christianity as the state religion. The year was 301, thus Armenia became the first Christian nation on earth. St. Gregory is revered as the patron saint of the Armenian Church. He is known as the Second Illuminator of Armenia, for bringing the Light into the darkness. The title of First Illuminator belongs to the Holy Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew who brought the Light of Christ to Armenia in the fifth decade of the first century.

Saturday is the feast of St. Gregory the Illuminator’s deliverance from the pit. Let us pray, Christ our God, you crown your saints with triumph and do the will of all who love you, looking after your creatures with love and kindness. Hear us from your holy and heavenly realm by the intercession of the Holy Mother of God and by the prayers of all your saints, especially the great patriarch of the Armenian people, St. Gregory the Illuminator. Hear us Lord and show us your mercy. Forgive, redeem and pardon our sins. Make us worthy thankfully to glorify you with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Gayané, Kindling

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Armodoxy for Today: The Road to the Center of Light – a five-part mini-series of daily messages dedicated to this special week in the life of the Armenian Church. Five days, five inspirations, five sparks that connect to shine the Christ Light.

Day 2 – Gayané: If Hripsimé was the spark of the Christian revolution in Armenia, Gayané was the kindling. Gayané was the head of the convent, what might be commonly referred to as a Mother Superior. When Hripsimé ran from Emperor Diocletian it was into the embrace of Gayané. She could not have had a better ally. Gayané was a woman of principle and high morals and for this reason she was charged with the leadership of the sisterhood.

It is important to remember that the Church, at this point, is still functioning underground. That means, the gatherings of the community were secretive. There were pockets of Christians throughout the Empire, but for the most part they were discriminated against, and were dispensable. Furthermore, the Bible had not yet been compiled, but there were scriptures – mostly Psalms and Proverbs – that were read among the believers, and of course, St. Paul’s letters had risen to the status of “epistle,” meaning that they were general letters to the community.

Gayané knew Jesus Christ from the Holy Tradition handed down to her by the Holy Church.  She did not read the words of Christ but heard his voice, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)

Gayané had picked up her cross in the vows she had taken to serve God by serving others. When the King realized that Hripsimé was not budging from her stance, he approached Gayané, as the head of the sisterhood, to persuade Hripsimé to give into his desire. Just the opposite, Gayané insisted that Hripsimé not trade the pleasures of this world with the rewards of eternity. And so it was they escaped, but at the cost of their mortal existence.

The king’s muscle was exerted on these young girls in an unbelievably disgusting manner. The details of the torturous death they succumbed to would be called crimes against humanity today. Gayané was just the right kindling to Hripsimé’s spark. They played as a team as this Revolution began in Armenia. Gayané brought stability to the team by standing firm to her faith and being a pillar of strength to the young Hripsimé. Each of the characters we meet this week, come to us from over 1700 years ago, but their stories connect to our lives today. The struggles we go through every day, perhaps not as dramatic, still shake us to the core. These characters inspire us to live with hope and overcome the worst of the worst. In their inspiration today, we understand that these stories are timeless.

Every revolution needs a leader, and he was on the horizon. Tomorrow: Gregory the Parthinian, who would come to be known as the Illuminator.

Today is the feast of St. Gayané. Let us pray, Christ our God, you crown your saints with triumph and do the will of all who love you, looking after your creatures with love and kindness. Hear us from your holy and heavenly realm by the intercession of the Holy Mother of God and by the prayers of all your saints, especially the holy martyr St. Gayané. Hear us Lord, and show us your mercy. Forgive, redeem and pardon our sins. Make us worthy thankfully to glorify you with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Hripsimé, the spark

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Armodoxy for Today: The Road to the Center of Light – a five-part mini series of daily messages dedicated to this special week in the life of the Armenian Church. Five days, five inspirations, five sparks that connect to shine the Christ Light.

Day 1, Hripsimé. “The longest journey begins with a single step,” said Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu and I would imagine every culture has some parallel statement that expresses the  sentiment that the biggest and most complicated tasks begin with an initial spark. Hripsime is the spark that ignited the Christian revolution in Armenia in the early 4th century.

Hripsimé was a young girl, we are told, of remarkable beauty. In the late 3rd century, she entered a Roman convent, dedicating her life to Jesus Christ. Her beauty caught the eye of the Roman emperor Diocletian and he was determined to marry her. Hripsime and the other sister fled Rome to escape his hounding, and after some time ended up settling in the town of Vagharshapat, Armenia.

Emperor Diocletian sends word to the Armenian King Tirtad to have her captured and returned to Rome. What happens next seems almost too predictable, Tirtad is taken by Hripsimés beauty and wants her for himself. He offered her his kingdom if she would be his queen, but she refused to marry him, a pagan, and give up her Lord Jesus Christ.

Hripsimé refusal, and her faithfulness to Jesus Christ was the first step on the road to the Christianization of Armenia. Her short answer “No,” was a tiny little step that had huge repercussions. But at the time she refused the king, the only thing that was certain for her was, at the least, persecution, at the most, death.

Rev. Martin Luther King once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Hripsimé took that first step uncertain of where it would lead. Most definitely she did not know, nor did it cross her mind, that this “No” to the king would be the spark to the conversion of Armenia to Christianity. The only certainty she had was that her action, or non-action, was in line with her core beliefs as a Christian.

Hripsimé is a saint whose story inspires us to do that which is right. Hripsimé knew well the parable of the “10 Maidens” (Matthew 25) and as a Christian she had heard the words of Jesus, who said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) “Queen Hripsimé” was guaranteed a beautiful and pleasant life, “Sister Hripsimé” was marked to death. But her strength came from Jesus Christ, in his words, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Hripsimé followed her heart. It was the place of her treasure. She teaches us to walk in faith and do that which is right. The wealth and beauty of this world … that’s tomorrow: Gayane.

Today is the feast of St. Hripsimé. Let us pray, Christ our God, you crown your saints with triumph and do the will of all who love you, looking after your creatures with love and kindness. Hear us from your holy and heavenly realm by the intercession of the Holy Mother of God and by the prayers of all your saints, especially the holy martyr St. Hripsimé. Hear us Lord, and show us your mercy. Forgive, redeem and pardon our sins. Make us worthy thankfully to glorify you with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Canons: More than an Admin Issue

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Next Step #776 – June 1, 2023 – Canon law brings order and avoids chaos in the church. What happens when laws are broken intentionally? Fr. Vazken discusses the recent incident of a non-canonical ordination and the grave consequences which are not limited to order, but extend to the spiritual welfare of the communicant, the community and the essences of the Apostolic Church. Here’s a play by play of what’s happening.
Western Diocese’ statement
Window View of the Armenian Church
Parik Nazarian
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for http://Epostle.net
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