2015 Easter Message

“I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25)

This is the true testimony given by Christ for himself to humanity. Resurrection is not only resumption of life, but also eternal life, which is the reward reserved for all those who lived faithfully in and with Christ.

Usually we look, live, and understand life as being the sum of our days in this world. We think of life being the span from birth to death and we hope it will be pleasant and happy. To enjoy the sweetness of life, we hope the days of our life will be many and long.

Therefore, the plain and true physiological understanding of this definition of life needs greater and profound meaning in the context of our Christian faith, where we do not regard life as only the time we lived on earth, but also especially our union with our God and Lord Jesus Christ, that begins from this world and opens the way to true life—our union with Christ. Exactly with this understanding on another occasion our Lord said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6)
These thoughts become profound when we prepare to greet and celebrate Christ’s glorious resurrection. It is a message of twenty centuries directed to all humanity that beyond this world there is a life that does not age, a life that does not die. To enjoy that life it is necessary to adopt the road that leads to the resurrected Christ. Blessed and holy are they who have confessed Christ as their Lord and Life, who have witnessed this truth, even at the risk of their passing lives.

If the experience of an individual life opens the road to eternal life, then truly the collective comprehension of peoples also guarantees the same eternity that comes from God as grace and reward.

This is a statement of fact whose witness is the Armenian people throughout their national existence. We confessed Christ as our God; through our national crucifixion we were witness to Him and through our non-negotiable sacrifice, we were resurrected with Him, a resurrection that is received only with devotion and faithfulness.

There is no greater outcry of this truth of our witness then our nation’s collective martyrdom one hundred years ago. As much as it is the victim of international intrigue, it is equally testimony of the love and faithfulness that our nation has shown to Christ. Starting with Vartanank and through the centuries the unshaken proclamation of our struggle, devotion, and martyrdom has always been, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35). The genocide was the greatest catastrophe for our people and for humanity. Our grandfathers and grandmothers were sacrificed, as was our paradise homeland of thousands of years. This year, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the genocide, we are obliged to seek our eternal national life, whose ransom was paid by the blood of one-and-one-half million martyrs. As a nation we withstood one hundred years of terror, treachery, and evil. Now we stand upright and we not only mourn, but we marvel at the miracle of their martyrdom. Their martyrdom is so much greater and majestic than ordinary death. In the life of our church, the Martyrs of April, elevated upon the steps of sainthood, reach God; they reach eternal and true life—Christ!

As a message on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the genocide, suffice it for me to condense two specific thoughts:

1. Deprived of a homeland, the tragedy of our people was a result of a cruel and evil plan. Along with the loss of our homeland we lost all of the holy values that were inherently there. Throughout the centuries our homeland bloomed and flourished with our culture through our creative genius, blood, and sweat.

The message of the centennial directed to all of our people, throughout Armenia and the Diaspora, is that our homeland is sacred and is a treasure chest of our centuries of hallowed treasures. Maintaining and defending today’s independent Armenia is a duty for each of us, and our cause is the complete unity of our sacred lands.

2. On April 23, the Catholicoi of the Armenian Church will declare the canonization of the Martyrs of April. This is the supreme reward of our God and people. We the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the April saints have the imperative to live with our prayers and enjoy the blessedness won with blood and agony. This is the reward given to them by Christ himself, the everlasting obligation of the Armenian people, and the crown of righteousness given to them by our nation (II Timothy 4:8).

It is blissful to be the descendants of these holy martyrs. We prayed for them for one hundred years. Now the time has come for us to pray to them and seek their intercession for the perseverance of resurrection gained by our faithfulness, and a bright and victorious future.

“I am the resurrection and the life.” 

ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN
Prelate
Armenian Apostolic Church of America (Eastern Prelacy)
Easter
April 5, 2015