Tag Archive for: Catholic

Rock, Stones and the Pope

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Armodoxy for Today: Rocks, Stones and the Pope

The Conclave to elect the next Pope has begun. The person they select will be the next successor of St. Peter, one of the Apostles of Jesus Christ.

During the last few weeks, since the passing of Pope Francis, I’ve been asked many times about how the Armenian Church “fits into” the picture of the Christian Church? Especially because right after Easter and leading to his funeral, I shared some thoughts about the Pontiff, and his legacy, under the banner of Armodoxy and these daily messages.

Some questioned the phrase in the confession of Faith, that is, in the Nicene Creed, “We believe in one, catholic and apostolic holy Church.” Let’s begin there. The term “catholic” means universal. In print, it is easy to make a distinction between the catholic, with a lower case “c” as meaning universal, and upper case “C” as pertaining to the Roman Catholic Church. The office of the Pope is the head of the Catholic (upper case “C”) Church. In the Nicene Creed we confess that the Church is universal (lower case “c”) catholic. It is apostolic because it traces its origin to one of the apostles.

As I shared with you in those earlier daily messages, in the case of the Armenian Church, it was the Apostle Thaddeus that brought the Good News, the Gospel, of Jesus’ Resurrection, to Armenia, just as Peter took the message to Rome.

In Matthew 16, we read that Jesus asks his Disciples, first “Who do people say that I am?” After they threw out some names such as Isaiah, John the Baptist and Jeremiah, Jesus turned the question to them, “Who do you say that I am?” One of the twelve, Simon, answers “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus responds, “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah [son of Jonah], for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not be victorious against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Jesus renames Simon, “Peter” which is a play on the Greek word for “stone” or “rock.” Here is where some explanation is necessary. The Roman Catholic Church says the Church is built upon Peter, the Rock, whereas the Armenian Church and other Orthodox Churches say that the Rock is the profession of Faith that “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.” The Church is built upon that profession.

Thaddeus, Bartholomew, James, John and the other disciples, joined St. Peter in this profession. As for Judas, his vacancy was the first one to be filled. Tomorrow we’ll look at that scriptural reference.

As the Roman Catholic Cardinals pray and deliberate for the next successor of St. Peter, we pray a prayer we extract from the First Letter of St. Peter (chapter 2), We come to You, Lord Jesus, the living stone, rejected by men but precious and chosen by God. Keep away from me all malice, guile, insincerity, envy and slander, so my prayers may join the prayers of others to fortify your Holy Church in bringing glory and honor to God. Amen.

Cover: KTN 2025

Embarrassed? Don’t be…

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Armodoxy for Today: Embarrassed? Don’t be…

Several years ago, my spiritual father, that is the bishop who ordained me, asked me to join him at an ecumenical gathering. I was a deacon at the time. Priests, ministers, preachers and lay leaders from different denominations get together in a spirit of ecumenism to celebrate their common faith in Jesus Christ. Wanting to learn more about the first Christians, the gathering had invited Archbishop Vatché to address the conference. As his deacon, they sat me next to him on the dais.

Now I should mention that Archbishop Vatché, of blessed memory (1930-2023), was a straight shooter, in other words, he spoke his mind. He was a presence in the room, and this room was filled with ministers and pastors from all the major Protestant denominations. After they introduce him, he stood behind the podium, with his black cassock, episcopal medallion hanging from his neck, and Armenian monastic hood (velar) on his head. Did I mention he was a presence in the room?

He looked out at the audience of clergy and spoke into the microphone there was no doubt it was a direct message to everyone there. He said, “You!” (emphasized) “You have a lot to learn from us!” I slowly sank into my seat, hoping no one would notice my embarrassment. Here we were at a large gathering honoring the head of the Armenian Church, and here he is talking down to them. Time just stopped for that moment for me. And then, without losing his force in his voice he continued, “And we” (emphasized) “We have a lot to learn from you!” I straighten out in my seat and felt only embarrassed and disappointed in myself that I didn’t have the faith to know he was a man who understood the church well.

Archbishop Vatché’s comment came out of a place of love for the Holy Church. In the next few minutes, he outlined the strengths of the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. He spoke about life in a world where so many factors influence and affect families and people and stand in the way of peace. And he pointed to the Answer, Jesus Christ, that is the common bond between all those in attendance. He left the crowd on their feet in a standing ovation.

In the oldest Gospel, Mark writes a short narrative describing an encounter between the disciple of Jesus and a group outside of the Disciples. Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”

But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. (Mark 9:38-41)

In a world that is full of hatred, disease, inhumanity, and corruption, the Christian message of love supersedes all else as the solution and it begins with Christians displaying that respect and love toward one another.
Let swords be turned into ploughshares, fear to trust, despair to hope, oppression to freedom, starvation to prosperity, occupation to liberation, and peace and justice could be experienced by all.  (Prayer for Christian Unity, WCC)