Tag Archive for: Cross

Varak Dialect of Khatchkar

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Armodoxy for Today: The Khatchkar dialect of Varak

As Jesus entered Jerusalem on that first “Palm Sunday” the people went to the streets with joy, singing in loud voices, “Hosanna. Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

In the Gospel of Luke (19) we read that the religious elite of the day called Jesus from the crowd and ordered him to rebuke the crowd, but Jesus answer, “I tell you that if these [people] should keep silent, the stones themselves would immediately cry out.”

There is a small little village just off the shore of Lake Van in Western Armenia called Varak. In the third century the nun Hripsime, escaping persecution for her Christian beliefs hid in the hills of Varak. In her possession was a piece of the Cross of Christ. She hid the fragment on the mountain where it lay for over three hundred years until a hermit named Totig found it in the seventh century. This Sunday marks the celebration of this event, the Cross of Varak.

I had a chance to visit Varak. Today the town as well as all of Western Armenia is occupied by Turkey. The once beautiful and spiritually active monastery of Varak is now in shambles. Among the ruins you can make out the markings of the interior of the church. Small niches where candles once lit the interior are now exposed to the elements with the roof and huge dome in piles of rubble.

Next to the foundation stones which act as a footprint of the Varak Monastery are houses of the villagers. Kids were playing on the unpaved streets and we struck up a conversation with some of the villagers. One of them invited us into their house. The walls were stones stuck together with a dry pack type of mortar. Stones of different colors and different shapes indicating a variety of sources and suggested they were gathered from different time periods. And… there were khatchkars – cross stones – taken from the monastery and stuck on the wall to protect the inhabitants of the house from outside weather conditions.

The destroyed monasteries and ruined churches, are part of a campaign to erase history and are the final act of destruction following Genocide. Michael Arlen, in his book Passage to Ararat, (1975) searches his roots in Armenia and in Western Armenia. Speaking to the erasure of history, Arlen writes, “What was it except hatred to say that a people did not exist?”

The khatchkar answers back. Khatchkars speak to us in a distinct language, or perhaps, it is a different dialect, because if you listen carefully, you can always understand the message. Khatchkars are the stones that counter the hatred by proclaiming peace of heaven on earth. Even in destructed form, in the ruins, the khatchkars are sharing the Divine message of hope and love as an antidote to the hate.

We pray this prayer for peace, Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace, please grant us peace. Make all men and women witnesses of truth, justice, and brotherly love. Amen.

Khatchkar Messages

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Armodoxy for Today: Khatchkar messages of Christ

Khatchkars decorate Armenian Church, monasteries and the landscape of Armenia. They are tall. They are telling. Many of them can be read like a map pointing to the heavens and eternity.

A khatchkar, literally means “cross stone.” On a large stone, usually rectangular in shape, about six or seven feet tall and three feet wide, engravings reflecting the faith and determination of a person dedicated to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These stones have survived and have been sharing a message for hundreds and even a thousand years.

The central carving is of a cross, ornate with swirls and designs that depict different theological concepts or ecclesiastical symbols. One khatchkar which is found at the Monastery at Gōsh is especially telling. Gōsh was a seat of education in Armenia as such, the khatchkar there stands tall to tell a story of heaven-earth relations. It may not seem very unusual to see earth depicted as a large sphere in this carving, until you learn that this stone was carved in the 6th century, some 600 years before the Inquisition in Europe, Armenians had already understood the earth to be round and rejected the flat-earth concept.

The messages on the khatchkars are many and in different varieties. However, the greatest story that is often  forgotten is that the khatchkar depicts resurrection and victory. Every cross, without exception, and especially every khatchkar is the story of Jesus Christ. Without Christ, the khatchkar has no meaning, in fact, without Jesus Christ, a cross is merely two perpendicular lines.

We stand between two feasts of the Cross – the elevation and the Cross of Varak. The Cross is defined by Jesus Christ, as the instrument of torture, now turned into a symbol of victory.

Yes, the khatchkar decorates the Armenian landscape, and in that decorative form it has been a constant reminder to the people of the power of love over hate, and good over evil. The khatchkar stoically standing on the sidelines of history as the ever-present messenger of hope is a nonstop witness to the reality that has been central to the survival of a people.

Imagine that, a people who have turned around in their journey, and everywhere they have looked, they have been reminded of the hope in the eternal and aligned themselves with the Divine through Christ. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Tomorrow, we’ll look at one special khatchkar, decorating a village house, in Varak. Today we pray, from the 13th hour of St. Nersess Shnorhali’s “I Confess with Faith”: Heavenly King, grant me your kingdom, which you have promised to Your beloved; and strengthen my heart to hate sin, to love you alone, and to do Your will. Have mercy on all Your creatures and on me. Amen

Cover photo: Luna & Gregory Beylerian, 2023

Tangible Items of Faith

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Armodoxy for Today: The Tangible Items of Faith

In the post-Resurrection encounter between Jesus and his apostle Thomas, tactile affirmation is presented as the necessary proof for after-death existence. Thomas refuses to believe Jesus has resurrected, unless he can touch and feel his wounds. Following their encounter Jesus says, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This, then, becomes the challenge for all Christians from time zero to today: believing without seeing. A difficult task for anyone, especially us in a world that is defined by our interaction with it, through our senses.

For this reason alone, symbols are important. Symbols help us understand things and concepts that are difficult to explain. For instance, a flag symbolizes a country and can stir deep rooted feelings of patriotism. The main symbol of Christianity is the cross. Two planks, placed perpendicular to one another, joined together and the horizontal plank dissected in its center constituting a left and right arm. Two planks of wood can be cut, whittled, and used as kindling in a fire, or to build a staircase, but create them in the shape of a cross, they now have a deeper meaning.

The many stories about the Holy Cross of Jesus involve people interacting – tactile interaction – with either the Cross or pieces of it – finding them, gathering them, decorating them, and, even, fighting for them. People take on great personal challenges and difficulties to find and preserve those fragments. In return, they discover a Power that goes beyond understanding. They find protection and a haven in the shadow of the Cross,

The stories we tell are meant to serve as the witness to the Power that emanates from the saving Cross. Challenge yourself to tap into that power.

We continue tomorrow.

Cover: 2019 “Custodian for an Hour” – Artsakh

St. Macarius’ prayer

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Armodoxy for Today: St. Macarius’ prayer

There are four major feasts dedicated to the Holy Cross of Jesus, Exaltation – the one we just celebrated on Sunday – is the greatest. Exaltation, or Elevation of the Cross, encompasses the others feasts, which are Discovery of the Cross, Apparition of the Cross, and the Cross of Varak.

The Cross of Christ is mystically connected to the power of healing. Yesterday I shared one story from my personal experience. Throughout the centuries there have been thousands of such events that have been well documented. The first takes place when the Holy Cross of Christ was discovered.

Christianity was an underground religion for the first few centuries after Christ. When Christianity was accepted in the Roman Empire, many pious converts went on expeditions to preserve relics and sacred objects connected to Christ. The greatest of these was the Cross.

The mother of Emperor Constantine, Queen Helena, was one of those pious individuals. She ventured off to Jerusalem to find items to bring her closer to Christ. With the help of the Bishop of Jerusalem, St. Macarius, she discovered the site where the Crucifixion took place. There, she found three crosses. Which was the true Cross of Christ? Apparently there was a terminally ill woman there. St. Macarius offered this prayer: “Lord, through the suffering of Your only Son on the cross, You chose to bring salvation to humanity. And now, You have moved Your servant Helena to search for the sacred wood on which our Savior was crucified. Please reveal clearly which of these three crosses was raised for Your glory. Set it apart from the ones used for ordinary executions. Let this dying woman be restored to life the moment she touches the cross that brings salvation.”

The woman was healed when touched by the True Cross of Christ. St. Helena had a shrine built on the spot. The Armenian Church is a custodian of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Pray, as St. Macarius did, not as a test of the power of God, but rather, to have God guide you to the power which heals and brings us salvation.

Tomorrow, we continue.

A Special Elixir made of Basil

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Armodoxy for Today: A Special Elixir

Yesterday, at the Feast of the Holy Cross, a special ceremony known as antastan took place in all Armenian churches worldwide. The word literally means land, as in a piece or patch of land. During the ceremony the four corners of the World – West, East, South, North – were blessed.

A cross is decorated with basil, and processed around the church. The significance of basil was explained in one of last week’s daily messages leading up to the Holy Cross Feast. Today, a small story, from my pastoral experience that I share for your consideration.

It happened during the early days of the first pastorate near San Jose, California. A young man in his late teens was stricken by a mysterious illness that left him in a coma-like state. He could not take anything by mouth. He was being fed intravenously. The doctors were baffled. His parents called me for prayers. I too was young, only recently ordained a priest, and filled with questions. I visited him a few times but wasn’t sure if he even knew that I was in the room. We prayed with his parents.

After two weeks, on the feast of the Holy Cross, blessed the four corners and I took some of the basil home with me. That Sunday, I called my grandmother. She lived in Los Angeles, and I knew that the feast was important in her life. During our conversation, I mentioned the plight of the young man, Armen. Without hesitation she instructed me to boil some water with the blessed basil leaves and take this “tea” to the boy. It would help, she said.

I’m all for science and medicine. I wasn’t really up to taking a homemade concoction into a modern hospital. What he had was still a mystery for the doctors, but, out of my respect and love for my grandmother and her wisdom, I took a thermos of this elixir to the hospital, put it under my coat to avoid embarrassment, I got it into the room.

The parents touched the basil tea to Armen’s lips. If this did not happen in my presence I would not have believed it. He reacted. He moved. They called me the following day and told me he had woken up and drank the tea. A few days later he was up, eating and drinking as normal. They never knew what caused or what the illness was, only that he came through and now, 40+ years later, I remember that episode, especially every Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

As mentioned earlier, I present it here for your consideration and ask that we continue on the mystery of the cross tomorrow.

Friday to this Friday

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Armodoxy for Today: Friday to this Friday

On this Friday, with thoughts of the Holy Cross, we go back to the original day of the Cross, the day of Crucifixion, on a day that has now been designated as “Good Friday.” On that day, an innocent man was condemned to death. He was beaten and flogged for spreading a message of love. He was mocked and humiliated on made-up political charges. Standing at the foot of the Cross were only five or six of his followers, in stark contrast to the thousands who ushered him into Jerusalem only four days earlier (on Palm Sunday).

If you were one of those people standing at the foot of the Cross, or if you heard this story up and only to this point, you would hardly believe this to be a Good Friday. The horrifying torture and death of Jesus Christ was anything but a good event.

Then came Sunday. On Easter Sunday, Jesus’ tomb was empty! He has Risen! The first gospel – good news – is what changed an evil and “Bad” Friday into Good Friday! By his glorious Resurrection, Jesus made the instrument of torture and death, into a symbol of victory and goodness. He taught us that the cross – our trials and tribulations – are not to be avoided but must be embraced. And herein we learn the lesson that Resurrection can only follow Crucifixion.

Today we pray the Armenian Church’s prayer (from the Book of Hours): By this Holy Cross let us ask the Lord, that through it He would save us from sin and sustain us by His goodness; Keep us in peace, Christ our God, under the protection of your Holy and venerable Cross. Save us from visible and invisible enemies. Make us worthy to thankfully glorify you with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto ages of ages. Amen. 

Translation: Thomas J. Samuelian, Ph.D. St. Gregory of Narek

Basil from the Trash

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Armodoxy for Today: Basil from the Trash

The Feast that we celebrate this coming Sunday is the Exaltation of the Cross. The story behind the Feast has to do with Christian forces liberating the true Cross of Christ in the 7th century, from enemies who had held it captive. This story will be repeated in most Armenian Church, as well as Orthodox Churches, this Sunday. You will also notice basil prominently used during the service.

The association of basil with the Cross of Christ comes to us from the time of Constantine and his acceptance of Christianity, twelve years after Armenia’s conversion in the 4th century. Him mother, Queen Helena went in search of the True Cross of Christ and found in a trash heap. At the foot of the cross there were beautiful purplish-green basil leaves, filling their eyes with beauty and the air with the royal aroma that the plant exudes. Amidst all the debris and filth, there grew this vibrant vegetation, on the spot where the ugliness of hate took our Lord’s life, and His Sacred Blood dripped mixed with the tears of his mother, the Blessed Asdvadzadin. Basil.

Over the past few days, I have shared with you how Christ transforms the Cross from an instrument of torture to a symbol of victory. Everything about the Armenian Cross mirrors the ultimate victory found in the Resurrection of Christ, teaching us that beyond troubles there is a safe haven, beyond evil there is good and after crucifixion there is resurrection. Believe.

Today we pray, an expression from  St. Gregory of Narek, “… the Lord’s cross, a sign of good fortune, glorious and resplendent, unshakable in its exalted light, invincible in the strength on high, standing as an irresistible champion, unmovable forever against the immoral ways of Satan’s tyranny. For the discerning soul, it is a treasure of spiritual goods, showing the defeat of death and the absolution of sin, plus double hopes for each, now and eternally. (Prayer 51)

Translation: Thomas J. Samuelian, Ph.D. St. Gregory of Narek

Beauty in the Cross

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Armodoxy for Today: Beauty in the Cross

Jesus transformed the Cross, an instrument of torture and death, into a symbol of victory. “In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) With these words Jesus assures us that our most trying times are temporary. They can and 0will be defeated. You will be victorious over every one of your crosses because he overcame and conquered the worst-of-the-worst.

Jesus’ words tell us that the cross is a part of life. Trials and tribulations, evil, endings, hurt, death, are all crosses that will be defeated. It is important to note that Jesus said these words before he rose to the Cross. His assurance is based on Divine knowledge, a priori, asking us to accept on faith.

Every tear will be wiped away from your eyes and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  (Revelation 21:4)

The Armenian Church venerates the Holy Cross. Crucifixes are not present, aside from during the Lenten Season, in the Armenian Church. The Cross is beautiful, ornate. It stands as a testament to Jesus’ Resurrection, to the Victory that is assured each of us who believe and follow him.

Today we pray from St. Gregory of Narek, Grant your mercy upon my forsaken self, good king, who inspires awe, loves humanity and cares for his people, living and holy Lord who always enlightens us by the power of the mystery of your exalted cross. In my barren fields, hardened by sin, filled with folly, with fruitless heart, I am still sustained by your compassion, Almighty. May my soul be refreshed with springs of water and my sore eyes quenched with streams of tears, offered for purification and salvation and released by your acceptance, all-giving Lord, who is glorified forever. Amen. (excerpt from prayer 36)

Translation: Thomas J. Samuelian, Ph.D. St. Gregory of Narek
Cover: Khatchkar-2Bp-2B292-2BMatenadaran-2BMs-2B3833.jpeg

Cross Changeover

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Armodoxy for Today: Cross Changeover

Walk into an Armenian Church and you’re sure to be overwhelmed all the symbols. God is a mystery. Jesus Christ gives us a glimpse into that mystery with his life and teaching. We can all agree that if God could be explained with words, He no longer is God, that is, by virtue of definition, God is greater than and beyond our thoughts and words.

The greatest symbol within the Armenian Church is that of the Cross. It is an instrument of torture and death, yet we exalt it. We bless people and objects by the “sign of the Cross.” We wear crosses ornamentally, on necklaces, rings, earrings, tattoos, and embossed on clothing. If you were to imagine someone wearing today’s devise of torture and murder, such as a hypodermic needle for the lethal injections, or an electric chair, we would then understand St. Paul’s words, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing…´(I Corinthians 1:18) Yes, it would truly be humorous, it would be foolishness to praise a gas chamber.

And here is where the switch comes. Through the salvific act of Crucifixion and Resurrection, Jesus transformed the instrument of torture and death, the Cross, into a symbol of victory.

“In the world you will have tribulation;” says Jesus. Yes, you will have difficulties, suffering and yes, crosses to overcome. “But be of good cheer,” Jesus continues, “I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Indeed, the victory over the Cross transformed the symbol into one of triumph.

We pray today, a prayer from 8th century by  Sahak Tzoroportsi, “May your Cross be our refuge with its blazing brilliance. That which is named the tree of life destroyed the enemy and dissolved our death sentence, for the salvation of the universe. Amen.”

Prelude: Is the Cross Necessary?

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Armodoxy for Today: Is the Cross Necessary?

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is one of several Christian celebrations focusing on the Cross of Christ. This week, we look at the Holy Cross with reflections. St. Paul writes, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (I Corinthians 1:18)

Let’s begin these reflections with a very fundamental question, Is the Cross necessary for  salvation?  Or more simply, Is the Cross necessary in Christianity? … the Christian experience?

Writer Nicholas Kazantzakis, best known for his novel “Zorba the Greek,” first pondered these questions in his 1955 novel, “The Last Temptation of Christ.” What if Jesus had not accepted “the cup,” as was his prayer in the Garden of Getsemani (Luke 22:42). What if he did not accept or refused his appointment with the Cross? Deeper still, was it even possible for Jesus not to take the cup, not to rise to the Cross? And if he had not, what would that have meant (or not meant) for us today?

This week we look at the Cross, biblically and in the prayers offered by the Holy Church. We begin with St. Nersess Shnorhali’s 14th hour of prayer, Upholder of all creatures, preserve by the sign of your cross, my soul and body, from the allurements of sin, from the temptation of evil, from unjust people, and from all dangers physical and spiritual. Have mercy upon your creatures, and on me. Amen.

Cover: Gregory Beylerian, 2014