2014 NRA Message

Before all else, I express glory and thanks to our Almighty Lord who kept us in His abundant mercy and sweet love as the cultivators of His will, so that through the preaching of the Gospel and remaining faithful to our Church’s principles, canons, and traditions, we could serve our glorious people. Eternal glory to You, Lord.

With gratitude and filial respect, I thank His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia, for his fatherly care and concern. Vehapar’s thoughts and advice, contributed immensely to the success of our work. Contrary to our extensive preparations, unfortunately the Pontifical Visit of His Holiness in October 2012 did not take place. Because of the civil strife and the difficult and uncertain condition of our historic mother community of Aleppo, His Holiness cancelled his official visit to remain close to his flock in order to closely monitor the situation, and secure the necessary financial needs of our true sisters and brothers.

I extend my brotherly greetings to His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy, and to His Grace Bishop Meghrig Parikian, the newly-elected Prelate of the Prelacy of Canada, who was elected last week, succeeding His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Hagopian. As we have in past years, we will continue our cordial and brotherly relationship with our sister prelacies. We wish both prelates success so that they will be able to enhance the important mission of their office entrusted to them with great devotion for the betterment and elevation of our church and people.

I extend brotherly greetings to His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, with whom we have a cordial and respectful relationship. We have worked together in various spheres and have endeavored, and will endeavor, to strengthen the internal life of the church.

On behalf of our Religious and Executive Councils, as well as all of our parishes and faithful, I extend special greetings and thanks to Rev. Fr. Hrant Kevorkian, pastor of Saint Sarkis Church of Detroit, as well as to the Board of Trustees and affiliate bodies, who are hosting this National Representative Assembly and who make our presence here comfortable and pleasant.

On this occasion, I wish success to the Saint Sarkis Church community and sister organizations for the accomplishment of their new plans. We are certain that you are all aware that for many years the St. Sarkis community has been contemplating relocating the church and community center to an area in Greater Detroit that is more convenient and accessible to the Armenian community, permitting them to serve the community with a wider reach, creating many conveniences, and a better environment. We have already conducted the ground blessing at the new spacious piece of land, and we are hopeful that in the near future the plans will be realized.

I have a debt of gratitude to express to our Vicar General, Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, to our pastors, as well as to the members of the Religious and Executive Councils, to all of our parish communities, the boards of trustees, and to the dedicated compatriots and benefactors who serve our people faithfully and diligently and who assist in the harmonious and productive success of our endeavors.

*   *   *

Dear delegates,

This year I want to concentrate on three inherent points.

1. During the past three years, the life of the Armenian people in Armenia as well as throughout the Diaspora, has been overwhelming and deeply troubling because of the destructive civil conflict in Syria. Aleppo, our mother community after the Genocide, experienced—and continues to experience—the horribleness of the civil war and the uncertainty of the future. The thousand year old community of Kessab—the final remnant of our Cilician Kingdom—was once again emptied of Armenians, with the aid and participation  of the same enemy, who through the crime of genocide, forcibly displaced us from our centuries-old homeland. All Armenians, wherever they be, must become participants in the sad everyday plight of the Syrian Armenians. Our Prelacy has included in its permanent agenda fundraising to help the Syrian Armenian community, even at the cost of reducing a series of other programs that we had planned to inaugurate. The best example of this is the new Prelacy office building that we have postponed due to understandable reasons.

As I said, it is the heartfelt duty—the non-negotiable responsibility of every Armenian to help keep this community that was always the mother source in the Diaspora in the post-genocide life of Armenians, upright and vital. Yes, our primary responsibility as Armenians and Christians is to extend our hands to them. Otherwise, the call of our blood and our Christian faith will become just an ordinary thought and sentiment. The Armenian is not one who preaches love of nation; the Christian is not the one who only reads the Bible, but rather is the one who shows love of nation through sacrifice and the Christian faith through deed and life.

Our heartfelt prayer to God is that the sounds of war will quickly be silenced; that the spirit of coexistence will strengthen, so that Syria will once again find its former peaceful and constructive life.

2. The 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

It is impossible to describe the life of any nation completely and fully after it has experienced genocide, since the many and deep scars remain incurable in the collective memory of that nation.  The Armenian people have lived in this spiritual condition from 1915 to today. If we wish to write about the burden of the Genocide carried by the Armenian people, we are surely going to confirm that in spite of it being an acknowledged genocide, beyond genocide, it was a monstrous deed that was premeditated, planned, and implemented during the years from 1915 to 1923, and which to this day is being executed on our people, since we the survivors are the continuation of the history of the genocide. After the human massacre we experienced the pain and suffering in our families by our parents and grandparents who survived the Genocide. Yes, it was, and is, a deeper and greater calamity than the Genocide that befell our people—more than  one million human victims—a cultural massacre (that still continues),  the loss of our patriarchal homes and Fatherland, which as the demanding inheritors, for 99 years we have continued to struggle and endure with spiritual and emotional breakdown. His Holiness Aram I condenses our struggle into three words—three words that are not just directed at the criminal Turks and all humanity, but also especially to us, the inheritors of our rights and cause: Heeshel (remember); Heeshetsnel (remind others); Bahanchel (demand).

Just as our people in Armenia and everywhere in the world are preparing to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the genocidal crime, so also is the Eastern Prelacy, sometimes together with the Western Prelacy, has been working for a year to plan and implement remembrances with various events that will be a reminder of our great losses of human life, land, and culture; will remind all humankind of the Armenian Genocide; and will show gratitude to those nations who have sympathized with us and stood by us, especially in our demand for our rights collectively and in unison.

Indeed, with this purpose in mind, together with His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese, we invited the Armenian Catholic Church and Armenian Evangelical Church communities, the political parties, benevolent organizations, the Armenian National Committee of America, and the Armenian Assembly, and formed a united central committee, so that with united effort and work we can organize worthy events throughout 2015 in all of our communities.

We are going to have the opportunity during this venerable assembly to hear, examine, question, and make suggestions regarding the plans. Amongst all of the events, I want to single out the events of May 7-11, 2015, that will take place in Washington, DC. The best manifestation of these events is going to be our united participation. Events over a period of four days will take place in the presence and participation and under the auspices of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.

We expect all of our communities to actively participate in these events in order to remember our martyrs and our cause in a worthy manner, and remind the world of our martyrs and our demands for our just and worthy rights.

Therefore, I ask you wholeheartedly, to stand firmly in support of all of our planned events and share your thoughts and suggestions. On this matter, a special directive will be sent to our clergy fathers and boards of trustees, urging them to use the central committee as their model to organize united joint committees in their communities and invite our people to stand as the inheritors of the Martyrs testament and their call for justice.

3. This year I conclude my fourth term as your Prelate. In other words, a period of 16 years of service is completed—16 years during which I devoted myself with my modest capabilities in service for the radiance of our Church and the spiritual nourishment of our people.

I do not want to mention at this time the many programs (educational, administrative, publications, social, etc.) that were successfully completed thanks to the assistance and support of the Religious and Executive Councils, as well as our pastors, boards of trustees, and auxiliary organizations. Above all else, I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone for their dedication.

Having said this, when I recall the last 16 years of my service, I realize that without any specific reason, I was not able to complete everything with total success. Not because of neglect, or the merit of a number of projects, but rather because of internal and external situations, modest financial capability, and human weakness, it was not possible to accomplish all plans. The successes belong to all of our co-workers; the unfinished work belongs to me and to my weak human nature.

Here I want to express some thoughts and concerns that came to me through experience that we should look at objectively to view the future in a more constructive manner.

a. In my message last year, I devoted a section to the preparation of leaders and the obligations of dedicated leaders. Without healthy, ample, thoughtful leaders, who love to serve, it is not possible to expect positive results, because the first concern of clergy and lay leaders must be their mission and their duty that must be selfless and truly dedicated. The preparation of the clergy first and foremost is the obligation of the Prelacy’s Religious Council and especially the Prelate. Preparing young candidates with a vocation who can serve our spiritual needs in the United States is a difficult and responsible duty. Without well prepared clergy, our communities, without doubt, will remain weak and unable to confront religious education and the needs of an organized community. If our clergymen, during the course of conducting rituals, liturgical obligations, and providing healthy spiritual nourishment, are able to attract young people, enriching them with spiritual and national values and thereafter entrust them with modest duties, then naturally we will have future leaders who are educated, church-loving, and nation-loving, who will be able to better organize, build, and brighten the life of the Church. Without this endeavor, that is to say, the preparation of clergy and lay leadership, we may be faced with new problems in the future that will weaken our ecclesiastical-national life. Personally, with my entire being, I am against the spirit of pessimism and defeatism. All of us have the duty to work hand-in-hand, always with the goal to build the future, with brighter and more successful expectations.

b. The Prelacy is the collateral of the collective work and vision of all of our communities. I have said many times that without our communities the Prelacy cannot exist, and without a vital Prelacy it is not possible to have strong communities leaving them to their destiny on their own. We must accept the plain and natural conclusion that our Prelacy’s collective life is above local and narrow boundaries and considerations of profit. The Prelacy must be seen as a collective totality, whose prime concern is the success of our large and small communities. The success of any community must be looked upon with joy and contentment by our other communities. All of our communities are concerns of the Prelacy. Of course, the Prelacy remains impartial and responsive in its decisions, and greatly commends a community’s growth and its leadership’s zealousness, but also expects that the Prelacy’s directives are seen in a wider perspective, with worthwhile and constructive steps taken in the spirit of general benefit. Otherwise, our communities are reduced to solitary entities, whose end can be sad.

c. In any organization problems exist in its organizational or collective life. In our weak human nature, we are always prone to select the easy road—to criticize individuals, decisions, and accomplishments. Do not misunderstand. I am not condemning criticism if it is constructive, because pointing out deficiencies is always helpful. However, if we are left with only criticism and diagnosis, then our direction is not on the road toward success. We succeed when after identifying mistakes we think about finding solutions, and together contemplate workable, fruitful ways and means.

The best road is being well prepared and organized, that is to say, not leaving our ecclesiastical-national life to chance. This requires a complete virtuous program—deep understanding, patience, mutual understanding, love, sacrifice, dedication, and even strategy so that we can stand before history’s judge with open heart, contentment, pride, and victory.

This National Representative Assembly is one ring in our eternal quest, and the task of turning it into gold falls on all of our shoulders.

Therefore, let us move forward.

Thank you,

ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN
Prelate
Armenian Apostolic Church of America
Eastern Prelacy