Candid Conversation with Tigranna Zakarian
Internation Human Rights Activist, Refugee Response Coordinator
This is the soundtrack (AUDIO ONLY) of Next Step #805
Watch the Video at
Recorded September 2025
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for Epostle.net
Subscribe and listen on demand on your favorite pod-catcher!
We’re on Stitcher, Pandora, Spotify and Apple Podcasts
This is the soundtrack (AUDIO ONLY) of Next Step #804
Watch the Video at https://youtu.be/mxtcG8_7ABg?si=FW03repXAvSeVcNg
The Next Step with Fr. Vazken, SE, August 9, 2025
Activism in a world plagued by intolerance, war and even genocide. Here is a must-listen-to interview with Sophia Armen, a fresh voice, who shares her views on identity, activism and global challenges. Sophia Armen is a community organizer and scholar from Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Armen serves as Executive Director of Armenian-American Advancement Network and as Co-Chair of the CA Middle Eastern and North African-American Civil Rights Coalition. She holds a PhD in Ethnic Studies and has been active in a diverse array of community initiatives.
Recorded: 1 August 2025
From Dr. Armen’s website: Dr. Sophia Armen is a Middle Eastern-American feminist organizer, scholar, and writer. She holds a PhD in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, San Diego. Her research “A Peoples’ History of Middle Eastern-Americans, 1890-1930” focuses on the racialization of Middle Eastern peoples in the United States, from the perspectives of organizers and refugees through feminist theory and methodologies. She has been building in the feminist, SWANA, and survivor justice movements in the United States for over 15 years. She is a descendant of genocide survivors from Kharpert, Van, Hadjin and Istanbul. She served as the Co-Chair of The FF.
The Next Step with Fr. Vazken, SE, August 9, 2025
Activism in a world plagued by intolerance, war and even genocide. Here is a must-listen-to interview with Sophia Armen, a fresh voice, who shares her views on identity, activism and global challenges. Sophia Armen is a community organizer and scholar from Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Armen serves as Executive Director of Armenian-American Advancement Network and as Co-Chair of the CA Middle Eastern and North African-American Civil Rights Coalition. She holds a PhD in Ethnic Studies and has been active in a diverse array of community initiatives.
Recorded: 1 August 2025
Links:
https://drsarmen.com
Armenian-American Advancement Network
@armenianamericanadvnetwork
From Dr. Armen’s website: Dr. Sophia Armen is a Middle Eastern-American feminist organizer, scholar, and writer. She holds a PhD in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, San Diego. Her research “A Peoples’ History of Middle Eastern-Americans, 1890-1930” focuses on the racialization of Middle Eastern peoples in the United States, from the perspectives of organizers and refugees through feminist theory and methodologies. She has been building in the feminist, SWANA, and survivor justice movements in the United States for over 15 years. She is a descendant of genocide survivors from Kharpert, Van, Hadjin and Istanbul. She served as the Co-Chair of The FF.
Memorial Day Thoughts by Fr. Vazken Movsesian
Last Sunday I stood in church next to a visiting clergyman. We didn’t have an opportunity to speak before the morning service, but when the celebrant priest went to the vestry to prepare for the Liturgy, we had a few moments to exchange pleasantries. I asked him from where he was visiting. He answered quickly, Ukraine. I looked over at him in the moment of the unexpected answer, and he quickly pinpointed for me a precise location: Odesa, he said. He serves the dwindling Armenian community there. I asked him if he was close to the fighting, to which he again snapped, Every day, bombs are dropped around us! We see them fall in the middle of the city.
The war was right next to me in this holy sanctuary. There’s no escape. The Divine Liturgy began but I could not get Ukraine out of my mind. There I was, in church, with priest who was in proximity of bombs and gun fire every day. There’s no escape from the new reality. War is all around us and it’s invading all of our spaces. We can choose to ignore it, or take an active role in advocating for peace.
And then, the Priest came down from the altar. And processed around the inner circumference of the church. As he walks by the congregants, he holds a cross in one hand and censes fragrant incense with the other.
There are a variety of reactions to his presence in the congregation. Some lower their head to ask for a blessing, while others kiss the cross in the priest’s hand out of reverence. Others smile and acknowledge his presence, while others are too busy reading the bulletin or perhaps scriptures. Still, others watch as he goes by, not interested in engaging in any manner. And then of course, for those who are not there at that moment, the opportunity to interact is lost because the priest processes through the sanctuary and ascends back to the altar area to continue the Liturgy.
This part of the Divine Liturgy, is as old as Christianity itself. It symbolizes Christ’s descent from the comfort of heaven to live, walk and be among us, after which he ascended back to heaven. During Jesus’ life, there were many reasons and many different interactions with him, just like the congregants on a Sunday morning interacting with the processing priest. There were people who sought him for miracles and healings, while others engaged with him for a blessing or merely to touch his garment. And, of course, for many, the opportunity to be made whole was there and they let him pass by. They were busy praying, reading, rationalizing or philosophizing and, he went by, never to be engaged.
In life, there are moments that are singularity and they demand our interplay at that moment, otherwise, they go by. Sometimes, events demand that we interact.
Today wars are taking place. Genocide is happening on the world stage. Ethnic cleansing is the plot. When my grandparents were exiled from their ancient homeland in Armenia and 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what came to be called the First Genocide of the 20th Century, and when they were left to die and starve from famine and contract malaria, they wondered how can this happen? How can good people, people who go to church, who believe in God allow such acts to take place.
The story continued in Nazi Germany, in Ethiopia, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, Congo and now in Gaza. I’m not talking about politics. I’m talking about humanitarian aid, because I can’t look at pictures of starving children and not think of my grandparents. Why do you think they call these, “Acts against humanity”? Genocide is not war, it’s the manifestation of hatred. It is fueled by pure hatred and prejudice. It may be manipulated by politics, but the fuel is evil, just as hatred is.
And this is where we come in. The Savior at the Center of our Church, Jesus Christ, is the manifestation of Love. We’ve never tried love as a solution. It’s more powerful than hate, just as light is more powerful than darkness, and in the Resurrection, we learned life is more powerful than death.
Yes, this is a moment of singularity in your life. Just like that morning in church, the opportunity is right now – you can interact, you can sit back, you can pray, you can analyze, you can read scriptures – but those children are still dying of hunger and bombs of hatred continue to fall on the innocent.
I share this with you on this Memorial Day weekend, in remembrance of all those who laid down their life for the freedoms we enjoy, for the freedom that allows me to share this message with you. We remember their sacrifice and pray that we learn from the ugly scars left in our world by these inhumane actions.
For today, I’d like to share with you a prayer that is an answer to Shnorhali’s nineth hour of prayer, Lord Jesus Christ, you who opened the eyes of the blind man, open our eyes which are blinded by hatred. You who gave hearing to the deaf man, open our ears which can no longer hear the cry of babies. You who loosened the tongue of the mute, open our mouths so we may share our voice for justice. You who restored strength in the legs of the paralyzed man, give us the stamina to walk to bring aid. You who opened the hearts of those who hate, open our hearts to give to those in need. Amen.
Armodoxy for Today: And then what?
For the past week I’ve shared with you stories and events of silence-in-the-face-of-atrocities. From the Armenian Genocide – the first of a series against different people, that continues until today –these horrendous and heinous crimes took place, and take place, on the world stage with relative ease, because of that silence.
I’ve shared with you that the word “Genocide” should not be thrown around lightly. Its meaning is beyond war and is fueled by pure hatred and prejudice. It may be manipulated by politics, but the fuel is evil, just as hatred is.
And finally, I’ve shared with you the urgency of this singular moment. We throw around the words such as, “Never Again” but they are merely rhetoric and empty words without our actions behind them.
Today I add a common theme of Armodoxy to these messages, and that is that our Christian faith is not something that comes alive Sunday mornings only. Jesus is very clear that we must be in sync with God all the time. It is not complicated, it’s merely doing His will, which is to love, to care, to forgive, to nurture, to share, to oppose evil.
Jesus instructs with this parable and asks, “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered.
Of course, the first! The one who promises to do the work and does not, is like those with the empty talk of “Never again.”
The Gospel message is very clear. It was pronounced by the angels on the night of Christ’s Birth: Peace on Earth, goodwill toward one another. The message is that God is love. Hatred cannot eliminate hatred. Ask any mathematician: 1 Hate +1 Hate = 2 Hate, not Ø Hate. The only thing the bombings of innocent people will do is ensure the continuity of hatred for generations to come. The message of Jesus is simple: Light is more powerful than darkness, Love is more powerful than hate, and Life is more powerful than death. Not empty words: He proved this with his life. It’s the message the Apostles preached. It is the apostolic message that we share through our means.
We pray, Lord Jesus Christ, you proclaimed You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. Take me beyond empty words to see You as the Incarnation of Love, and let me understand that the Only Way, the Only Truth and the Only Life is Love. Use me as an instrument of that Love. Amen.
Armodoxy for Today: Genocide Degree of Hatred
Toward the end of my first week in Rwanda, I made a very unusual discovery. I guess being in such a new and different country had consumed my attention to the point that I had not noticed this, or perhaps because it’s something you really don’t think about. But, after several days meeting with genocide survivors, I realized there was no one with grey hair!
The year was 2006 and I had been invited with a group of six educators from USC to visit the country that had experienced genocide 12 years earlier. The people I was meeting on the streets and in gatherings were children during the time of the genocide in 1994. But it just didn’t seem right. There had to be a few older people. There had to be some grey-haired people left. If there were, I wasn’t seeing them.
I asked around and one of our hosts took us for a drive out of town. We arrived at a camp for widows and orphans, and there, there they were: people with grey hair! These were people who, instead of being slaughtered, were allowed to live. There were about 200 ladies assembled in an outdoor auditorium to meet with our group.
After we were cordially introduced to the group, the turn was theirs. Our host introduced this group of genocide survivors to us. These were ladies whose husbands were taken at night and killed. And it goes without saying that taking advantage of the absence of the men, these ladies were brutally raped and abused. As tragic and as painful it was to listen to their stories, the question still remained: why were these women allowed to live? Why were they given a pass on martyrdom so that their hair could age with them? Why were these grey-haired ladies so special?
To continue with the introductions, and to make a point to us about the ravages of genocide, our host asked the ladies, “How many of you have HIV-AIDS?” All of them – yes, all of them – raised their hand!
Let it sink in. These 200 women at this one camp were allowed to live because they would then infect future partners, insuring death to survivors who fled the genocide.
Genocide is no ordinary crime. It’s not war. It’s the deliberate, sanctioned and systematic destruction and annihilation of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group with the intent to destroy the group as such. Imagine the degree of hatred toward a group of people that measures are taken, in this case infecting them with HIV-AIDS, so that if by chance someone survived they’d be stricken down.
My grandmothers and grandfathers were children when they fled the Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. It wasn’t until they had grey hair that I got to know them. We’re always thankful that countries in the Middle-East, Europe, the Americas opened their doors to them. Fortunately, there were people who cared. It’s something I can’t forget and am bound morally to call out the horrendous crime of genocide. It’s not a political issue, it’s a humanitarian issue.
Today we echo our prayer, Lord Jesus Christ, you who opened the eyes of the blind man, open our eyes which are blinded by hatred. You who gave hearing to the deaf man, open our ears which can no longer hear the cry of babies. You who loosened the tongue of the mute, open our mouths so we may share our voice for justice. You who restored strength in the legs of the paralyzed man, give us the stamina to the walk to bring aid. You who opened the hearts of those who hate, open our hearts to give to those in need. Amen.
Armodoxy for Today: No Escape, Engage
This last Sunday I stood in church next to a visiting clergyman. We didn’t have an opportunity to speak before the morning service, but when the celebrant priest went to the vestry to prepare for the Liturgy, we had a few moments to exchange pleasantries. I asked him from where he was visiting. He answered quickly, Ukraine. I looked over at him in the moment of the unexpected answer, and he quickly pinpointed for me a precise location: Odesa, he said. He serves the dwindling Armenian community there. I asked him if he was close to the fighting, to which he again snapped, Every day, bombs are dropped around us! We see them fall in the middle of the city.
The war was right next to me in this holy sanctuary. There’s no escape. The Divine Liturgy began but I could not get Ukraine out of my mind. I had just recorded my “Next Step” podcast (#802) the day before, with a call to activism against the wars. Ukraine, Gaza, the Congo, India, Pakistan, are all areas that are referred to in news stories. But, there I was, in church, with priest who was in proximity of bombs and gun fire every day. There’s no escape from the new reality. War is all around us and it’s invading all of our spaces. We can choose to ignore it, or take an active role in advocating for peace.
Every Sunday, during the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church, the celebrant priest, descends from the altar area and processes around the inner circumference of the church. As he walks by the congregants, he holds a cross in one hand and censes fragrant incense with the other.
There are a variety of reactions to his presence in the congregation. Some lower their head to ask for a blessing, while others kiss the cross in the priest’s hand out of reverence. Others smile and acknowledge his presence, while others are too busy reading the bulletin or perhaps scriptures. Still, others watch as he goes by, not interested in engaging in any manner. And of course, for those who are not there at that moment, the opportunity to interact is lost because the priest processes through the sanctuary and ascends back to the altar area to continue the Liturgy.
This part of the Divine Liturgy, is as old as Christianity itself. It symbolizes Christ’s descent from the comfort of heaven to live, walk and be among us, after which he ascended back to heaven. During Jesus’ life, there were many reasons and many different interactions with him, just like the congregants on a Sunday morning interacting with the processing priest. There were people who sought him for miracles and healings, while others engaged with him for a blessing or merely to touch his garment. And, of course, for many, the opportunity to be made whole was there and they let him pass by. They were busy praying, reading, rationalizing or philosophizing and, he went by, never to be engaged.
In life, there are moments that are singular and they demand our interplay at that moment, otherwise, they go by. Sometimes, events demand that we interact.
Today wars are taking place. Genocide is happening on the world stage. Ethnic cleansing is the plot. To stay quiet and/or to ignore the horror, is an opportunity lost.
We pray, Heavenly Father, I see pain and suffering in this world. I have walked that path in the past. I said, Never Again. Today, grant me the courage to speak out against evil everywhere, so that I may have the moral authority to voice myself whenever evil confronts me. Amen.
What more? Try The Next Step with Fr. Vazken, Episode #802: Unapologetic Apologies
Next Step #802 – May 17, 2025 – Unapologetic Apologies – Pope Leo XIV’s papacy begins with a message of peace offered by the pontiff. Fr. Vazken breaks it down, and shares thoughts about the office of the successor of St. Peter and the Bishop Rome. “Unity in Essentials, Liberty in Secondary Matters, Charity in all things.” Who is the Bishop of the Ararat Valley? Synodality: The Catholics Discover what we’ve known. Unapologetically Fr. Vazken shares wishes and prayers to and for the Pope. And then… Apologetically a look at genocide happening now, Gaza included. How the world stays silent in the face of atrocities of the magnitude of genocide. Why “Never Again” didn’t mean never again. No politics just human compassion is the call of the day. And more…
Pope Leo XIV first words…
Luys Vocal Quintet. Naregatsi Art Institute
The Pete Rose story
Leveraging Love
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for http://Epostle.net
Subscribe and listen on demand on your favorite pod-catcher!
We’re on Pandora, Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Armodoxy for Today: Too Much Silence
Her name was Marie. Some called her Mary, once or twice, Maria. To me, she was grandma.
She was the oldest of six children. She was married and had two children herself before her life changed drastically. Her small family found refuge in the home of her parents, where they lived until they were exiled. Political unrest was all around her, and there was news coming in regularly of killings – individual and mass – in nearby villages and towns.
Marie was forcibly removed from her home, but only after her father and husband were seized and taken away, leaving the household with women and children only, an easy target for rape and physical brutality.
It became apparent to Marie that the government’s plan was much greater that singling out her family or her town. The government was executing a program of mass annihilation of an ethnic population, which later became defined as genocide, or for ease of understanding, “ethnic cleansing.” Marie didn’t understand why it was necessary to dumb-it-down to basic understanding. In fact, throughout her lifetime she had a hard time understanding why, people of seeming intelligence, upright moral character, people who would worship in churches, and praise God and proclaim the name of the Lord, why would these “nice” people allow such atrocities take place?
Marie died in 1985 in a bed in America, distanced by 70 years from the events that brought her to this country. Fortunately, she did not live to see, nor did she have the need to question the silence of the world over Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, Sudan, Congo and now Gaza. It was enough that she lived through the quiet world over the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany and the antics of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia.
The great minister of the Gospel, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” It was addendum to his warning, “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”
Inspired by Shnorhali’s 10th hour, I offer this prayer today, All provident Lord, open my eyes to the hurt and pain in the world, so I may see the beauty of life in all. Open my ears so I may hear the cries of your children, open my mouth so I may speak against the evil in the world and promote peace, open my hands so I may work for justice, guide my feet to walk in the paths of righteousness, so that my faith comes alive in a life lived by your commandments. Amen.
Armodoxy for Today: Opportunity Lost
Every Sunday, during the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church, the celebrant priest, descends from the altar area and processes around the inner circumference of the church. As he walks by the congregants, he holds a cross in one hand and censes fragrant incense with the other.
There are a variety of reactions to his presence in the congregation. Some lower their head to ask for a blessing, while others kiss the cross in the priest’s hand out of reverence. Others smile and acknowledge his presence. Still, others watch as he goes by, not interested in engaging in any manner. And of course, for those who are not there at that moment, the opportunity to interact is lost because the priest processes through the church and ascends back to the altar area to continue the Liturgy.
This part of the Divine Liturgy, symbolizes Christ’s descent from the comfort of heaven to live, walk and be among us, after which he ascended back to heaven. During Jesus’ life, there were people who sought him for miracles and healings, while others engaged with him for a blessing and merely to touch his garment. And, of course, for many, the opportunity to be made whole was there and they let him pass by.
In life, there are moments that are singular and they demand our interplay at that moment, otherwise, they go by. Sometimes, events demand that we interact.
Today a genocide takes place. Ethnic cleansing is the plot. To stay quiet and/or to ignore the horror, is an opportunity lost.
We pray, Heavenly Father, I see pain and suffering in this world. I have walked that path in the past. I said, Never Again. Today, grant me the courage to speak out against evil everywhere, so that I may have the moral authority to voice myself whenever evil confronts me. Amen.
Cover Photo: Lunabelle Beylerian, 2023
