Only the Beginning

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And now it begins…

The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning of the Christian story. Not Christmas, but Easter is where it all begins. It is a singular event in human history. Whereas everyone has been born, and everyone has and/or will die, only one has returned from death. That is the celebration of Easter.

In Armodoxy we approach Easter with preparation. We have been through a 40-day preparatory period called Great Lent, and a week of intense focus on the Mystery of the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, referred to as Holy Week. So, it would seem that Easter is the culmination of the period, instead we discover it is only the beginning.

The message “Christ is Risen” was the first Gospel of the Christian Church. The word Gospel means “good news.” In Armenian, good news is avetis from which the word avetaran is derived for Gospel. The Christian community was built on the good news that Jesus did not die but resurrected from the dead and lives on. The Resurrection takes place in the eternal present, it is not, “He rose” or “He has risen” but “He is Risen!” The message is current, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

In Jesus’ farewell discourse, recorded in the Gospel of St. John, he makes it clear that life will continue after the Resurrection. He does not leave us orphaned, but rather establishes and commissions His Church – His Holy Body – to continue the mission for which he came.

During the next 40 days, to the day of Ascension, we read the Book of Acts of the Apostles in the Armenian Church, thereby focusing on the development of the Church. During the next 50 days, to the day of Pentecost, we will look at the stories that come to us from Apostolic times juxtaposed next to stories that come from our experience, that is, stories of inspiration from our lives today. Join me on this next period of the Christian journey,

Let us pray, Heavenly Father, we thank you for your unconditional love, for looking after us, as the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Through Your love as our Creator, you gave us your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so we may have life and have it abundantly. And now, as we are reminded of Jesus’ Resurrection, we remember once again, you did not abandon us but set up the Holy Church, to guide and direct us through the Holy Spirit. May we be worthy of the Love you so abundantly bless us with. Amen.

Cover photo: TonyTheTigersSon (Envato Elements)

Resurrection and Beginnings

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Holy Week Day #9 – Easter Sunday! – You made it through to the end, only to find it’s the beginning. The angels direct us to look at Life and we do – to find it Resurrected! Final directions for the Lenten Journey.
Music: “Govya Yerousghem” by Vazkenian Seminarians at Lake Sevan; Speghani Children’s choir; “Birdsong Medly” by Armen Chakmakian; “About God” by Gor Mkhitarian. Cover: “Rise!” by Gregory Beylerian for In His Shoes Ministry. (available in the Epostle Shop)
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for ePostle.net

Easter Eve – ‘Before the Dawn’

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Holy Week Day #8 – Easter Eve – It’s always darkest before the dawn, but the Light cannot be contained. It’s radiating from the Tomb of Christ, as we anticipate the Good News of Resurrection; Matthew 28;
Music: Selections from “Ornyal eh Asdvadz” by Students at the Vazkenian Seminary at Lake Sevan; Cover: Easter Morning at the Hollywood Bowl, 2003.
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for ePostle.net

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Great Friday – Crucifixion & Burial

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Holy Week Day #7 – Great Friday – a mediation as this Lenten and Holy Week Journey culminates, at the foot of the cross with Christ, Mary and St. Nersess. The Cross is Unavoidable.
Prayer: “Lord Have Mercy”;
Music: Rendition of Der Voghormya by System of a Down; “Stairway to Heaven” (Led Zepplin) Symphonic Kashmir; “John Nineteen Forty One,” Jesus Christ Superstar, Andrew Lloyd Webber;
Cover: Holy Apostles Armenian Church in Kars, now converted to Mosque. 2014 Fr. Vazken
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for ePostle.net

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Great Thursday – Darkness: Life without Christ

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Holy Week Day #6 – Great Thursday – the Passion continues to unravel as Christ enters the Garden of Getsemane. We walk with Christ through this Amazing Story, where we encounter every human emotion, until we stand still in darkness – a Life without Christ.
Music: Diramayr, DerVoghormya and Oor es Mayr eem by Lucine Zakarian; Cover: Salvador Dali’s “Sacrament of the Last Supper”
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for ePostle.net

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Holy Week – Great Wednesday

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Holy Week Day #5 – The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ begins to unravel from the Last Supper where he instructs by action, the lesson in humility. Washing the feet of the Disciples, he invites us to a call for social justice and action.
Prayer: St. Nersess Shnorhali’s Aysor Anjar;
Music: Selections from Armenian Duduk Sounds from the Ages;
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for ePostle.net

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Holy Week – Great Tuesday (10 Maidens)

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Holy Week Day #4 – Great Tuesday – The parable (Matthew 25) can be and must be turned into a story reflecting its message of preparedness. The Christian is always ready with good works and solid faith, in preparation of answering to God.
Song: “Stargazer” by Armen Donelian;
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for ePostle.net

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Holy Week – Great Monday

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Holy Week Day #3 – The Farewell Discourse, John 14, Trust in God, Make Sense of the Chaos, Understand with your Heart and wipe away confusion – Comfort for the Passion Traveler.
Music: “Heru M’ertar” and “Lullaby for the Sun” by Night Ark in Wonderland, Cover: Death Valley at Spring

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Mt Davidson Time Capsule Unearthed

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Time Capsule Unearthed at San Francisco’s 
Mt. Davidson Cross Commemorating First
 Easter Sunrise Service in 1923 Reveal of 90 year-old time capsule items and burial of new time capsule; 
Religious and political leaders joined for historic event

On Saturday, April 1st, 2023, a time capsule was unearthed from the foot of Mt. Davidson Cross in San Francisco in front of a large crowd of onlookers.  Ninety years ago to the day, San Francisco officials and community members gathered at the top of Mt. Davidson Cross to witness Boy Scouts of America Troop 88 bury a sealed copper box at the foot of the Cross to commemorate the first Easter Sunrise Service held there on April 1st, 1923.

“Historic moments like these held at Mt. Davidson Cross illustrates how our Armenian-American communities can enrich and inspire society by bringing people together under the ancient canopy of our resilience and hope,” commented Fr. Mesrop Ash, Pastor of St. John’s Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco and Board Member of the Mt. Davidson Cross Armenian Council.

During the time capsule unearthing, representatives from the San Francisco Historical Society were present to delicately receive the items which will be prepared for archiving and placed on display for the public to view at their San Francisco museum in June.

Among the items found in the capsule– which were much more plentiful than the organizers were expecting– were a leather-bound Bible, a San Francisco telephone book, pamphlets, a Boy Scout pin, a municipal record of 1933 and several newspapers including the March 27, 1932, edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, featuring a full front-page photo collage of an Easter celebration, and several other newspapers from the time, many with headlines referencing a murder case.

Following the unearthing of the old time capsule, a new, larger copper time capsule was buried at the same spot. Memorable items were presented by various local clergy leaders including Archbishop Salvadore Cordieone, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco and Metropolitan Gerasimos, Metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco.

In front of the crowd, Archbishop Cordieone read a poignant quote from Pope Francis in 2015 during his visit to Tsitsernakaberd, the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Armenia and placed a copy of that inside the new capsule.

On behalf of the Armenian American community, Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese, placed a New Testament Bible from Constantinople (Istanbul) from 1884 belonging to a Genocide survivor and an Armenian Cross Stone (Khachkar) made especially for this event into the new time capsule.

Aside from the clergy, it was an honor to have many state and city politicians in attendance for this historic event. CA Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, as well as San Francisco Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Ahsha Safai all provided brief remarks and ceremonially added their own small San Francisco-related momento into the new time capsule.

The historic event was organized by the the Council of Armenian-American Organizations of Northern California (CAAONC), a coalition of more than 30 Armenian-American organizations that purchased the Mt. Davidson Cross through a City of San Francisco public auction in 1997. The CAAONC has renovated the Cross and maintains it and the hilltop as an offer of thanks to San Francisco for becoming a safe haven for survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

“The San Francisco Armenian American community was gratified to save the Cross from demotion in 1997 and serve as its caretaker for the past 25 years in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide committed by the Turkish government, remarked Roxanne Makasdjian, Founding Board Member of CAAONC and event Mistress of Ceremonies.

“We do this as a way of thanking San Francisco for taking in the Armenian refugees a century ago, and as a way to honor our history, both as the first nation to adopt Christianity in 301 AD, and as descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors. For us, this Cross and this time capsule embody the importance and purpose of remembrance,” commented Makasdjian.

Watch the Video

Listen to The Next Step Podcast #390 by Fr Vazken Movsesian, produced on November 16, 2015, starting minute 33, when Fr Vazken recaps a Pilgrimage by a group of  St Peter Armenian Church members, Glendale, led by him. The Pilgrimage was to 7 Churches in 3 days, including a hike to Mt Davidson Cross.

Listen to the Podcast

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian’s Remarks at the Mount Davidson Cross

Watch the live stream here:

Holy Week – Palm Sunday

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Holy Week Day #2 – Cleansing the Temple – The players are in place as the Passion Play begins. The invitation is extended to stand in the Procession to Jerusalem and to open the portals to our hearts, as Jesus cleanses the temple and the remnants of evil within us.
Song: “In the Moneylender’s Temple” by Ian Anderson and “Patz Mez Der” by Lucine Zakarian. Photo: Palm Sunday at Youth Ministry Center, Glendale 2005
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for ePostle.net

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