Armodoxy for Today: Where Angels Rest

Right outside of Yerevan, on the road to Holy Etchmiadzin, there are ruins of an Armenian Church called Zvartnots. For decades there has been talk of the possibly of reconstructing this monument to faith based on ancient documents and the archeological extrapolations from the positioning of the ruins. Architects have studied the large stone pieces of walls and domes but have not dare to tackle the project. They have made drawings of it, rendered it into models, but have not recreated it.

I believe, that it cannot be recreated. You see, the word Zvartnots is a descriptor pointing to “the resting place of the angels.” I do not believe it was made by human hands. It is a perfect place that cannot be recreated on this earth so long as there is no rest for angels.

The innocent who are given a death sentence whether because they are dodging bullets and bombs in war torn areas of the earth, or the victims of mass hatred and murder on the scale of genocide, or children who suffer of incurable diseases, rest in this habitat of perfection called Zvartnots. created by Divine hands. The Armenian Church developed it’s expression of death, namely in the Armenian Church’s requiem, for a population that was persecuted and the victims of hatred. The Armenian Church is the living witness to a people who were given a death sentence purely for being Armenian. Armodoxy tells us that today, we must react and console those who struggle in war, with intolerance, hatred and calamity. This is the Christian call to walk in the shoes of others.

We pray, “For the souls of them that are at rest, we ask of the Lord our God, to accept the souls of his servants, and give us the joy to work our lives in harmony for the sake of peace and tranquility in the world. Amen.”

Cover: 2019 Fr. Vazken