Tag Archive for: Orthodox

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)

 

Deck Chairs

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Armodoxy for Today: The Deck Chairs

On Sunday, the Eastern Orthodox Church, e.g. the Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Georgian churches, celebrated Easter. These are the churches that adhere to the canons of what is traditionally referred to as the seven ecumenical councils. The Armenian Church has celebrated Easter with the Western world since 1923.

The date of Easter is calculated as being on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. March 21 is the date of the equinox, giving you an idea of the range in which Easter can fall. The calculation formula for the Eastern Orthodox Easter date includes the Jewish Passover feast date. The Armenian Church chose to see the Resurrection – the Easter feast – as something separate from the Old covenant and opted for the Western date.

Every four or five years, the dates coincide, and the world celebrates Easter on the same date. On the other years, Easter is either one, three or five weeks apart.

There are those who contend that there should be a unity in celebrating Easter in the Christian world. There are others who argue the validity of one date over the other.

Armodoxy looks at the message of Easter – the power to Resurrection over Crucifixion – as the defining force of Easter. For Christians, every day must be celebrated as Easter as a Resurrection. Christos Anesti, Christos haryav, Christ has risen, is the greeting that is valid every day of our life as a Christian.

There is an expression that is worth remembering: “Arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” When the Titanic was sinking, it was futile to arrange the deck chairs. With wars, genocide, intolerance, hatred hitting us from all sides, it’s important to keep the message of the day in focus and prioritized.

We pray, Lord, you conquered death through Your Resurrection. Evil lost its hold and was destroyed in the presence of Good. Keep your Resurrection ever before my eyes as the power that overcomes hopelessness and is the generation of Life. Keep me focused on the Empty Tomb that is found every day that I choose to live, hope, and love. Amen.

Cover Photo: Envato Elements

Want More? Try this week’s Next Step “War Protest: Opportunity Eclipsed” 

Deciphering the Hymn

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Armodoxy for Today: Deciphering the Hymn

The Theology of the Armenian Apostolic, and therefore Orthodox, Church is embedded in its hymns. The hymn, referred to as Sharagan, holds a wealth of ancient wisdom that is a treasury preserved for us from the time of Christ. Over a thousand hymns are compiled into a book called the Sharagnots, which describes the fellowship between God and His creation.

Access to the Sharagnots is complicated by the language in which the hymns are written, and while there are translations from the Classical Armenian to the colloquial language and even to non-Armenian languages, the mystical flavor of the Church is tied in with the melodies of the chants as well as the sacred environment where they have taken form. Inside of a monastery or a church, within the incense filled space and candle-smoked walls, the words of the shargans dance to the rhythms of monastics vocal cords and theology is deciphered and delivered holistically.

The last sharagan was written in 2015, at the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. On April 24, 2015, the martyrs of the Genocide were canonized and are referred to as a Saints.

The translation of the Sharagan, opens a window into the understanding of the martyrs as saints.

“Astonished and appalled were the heavenly armies and with terror were petrified,” begins the sharagan, and continues to describe the desecration of God’s holiness by using the unique and singular pointer of Eden to Armenia.

“The nations upon seeing the ancient Eden, changed into the scene and arena of fire, blazing like Hell, of the passion of Cain, and the new sacrifice of this new Abel, whose blood speaks forever.

The Sharagan ends with the question posed earlier by the Psalmist and be humankind for millennia, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until You judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

Let us pray, Lord our God, allow me to celebrate the Mystery of Life, with my soul, my voice, and all my senses. Help me as I accept Your invitation to follow with my heart and accordingly decipher the instruction of Love. Amen.