(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is celebrating the Holy Mass at this hour in the Armenian city of Gyumri on the second day of his apostolic visit to the former Soviet nation. At the start of the Liturgy, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians welcomed the pontiff by thanking the Catholic Church which “gave a helping hand of brotherly love to the victims” of the devastating 1988 Armenian earthquake which killed 25,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
The Catholicos noted with satisfaction that “Gyumri is one of those historical towns of Armenia where centuries-old Armenican Christian values have flourished” and that they “are bearers of a beautiful tradition of Christian brotherly coexistence.”
In particular, His Holiness cited the city’s church of the Holy Mother of God which opened its doors to Christians of all denominations during “the Soviet years of atheism when churches were being destroyed or shut in Armenia and only through the zealous resistance of our people, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and a few other churches were still open.”
The Catholicos also noted the “seal of anguish” that distinguishes Gyumri which “felt the heavy blows of the Ottoman Empire’s devastating and invasive politics” when “our people were subjected to genocide” at the beginning of the twentieth century.”
Below, please find the English translation of His Holiness Karekin II’s discourse:
(Gyumri, June 25, 2016)
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
John 13:34
Your Holiness, Beloved spiritual brothers and faithful children,
Today, as our Church is commemorating the Feast of the Holy Apostles of the Lord, this message directed by our Lord to His disciples, is so ever sweetly and powerfully resounding in our souls. With this God-given warm feeling of love in the name of all the faithful of the region we welcome you to the city of Gyumri, beloved brother in Christ. It brings us great joy to be joining you in prayer, a great friend of the Armenian Church and the Armenian people, in a Mass celebrated by you.
Gyumri is one of those historical towns of Armenia where centuries-old Armenian Christian values have flourished, where the history and culture of our people and the spirit of generosity have harmoniously been shaped. The people of Gyumri are distinguished for their particularly profound faith and love towards the Church. They are also bearers of a beautiful tradition of Christian brotherly coexistence, which is witnessed by the prayerful presence of the faithful of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches, as well as of other Christian denominations. During the Soviet years of atheism churches were being destroyed or shut in Armenia, and only through the zealous resistance of our people, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and a few other churches were still open. During that time, Gyumri’s church of the Holy Mother of God (Yotverk) opened its maternal bosom and became a haven and a place of prayer for all the Christians of the Northern districts of Armenia and of the ethnically Armenian towns and villages of Georgia, regardless of their national identity or what denomination they belonged to, may they be Armenian Apostolic, Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. The Northern apse of Yotverk church was turned into a place of prayer for the Catholic faithful where the crucifixion statue in the Catholic tradition, brought from the Catholic Church of Arevik village, was erected and is maintained to this day. While the Southern apse was provided to the Russian Orthodox where in a most honorable place, the Russian icon of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker was placed. Thus, Gyumri and the church of the Holy Mother of God (Yotverk) became a tangible provider and preacher for ecumenism, years before the modern definition of ecumenism was established.
Beloved brother in Christ, the city which we are visiting today, on its warm and hospitable heart, also carries the seal of anguish. At the dawn of the twentieth century, when our people were subjected to genocide, Gyumri as well felt the heavy blows of the Ottoman Empire’s devastating and invasive politics. Today as well Gyumri faces closed borders as a witness to the genocide committed one hundred years ago and to the continuous denialist policies.
The pious people in Gyumri stood against the disaster of the earthquake through faith and brave heart. On this occasion we extend our words of appreciation to the Catholic Church, who also in those difficult days gave a helping hand of brotherly love to the victims of the earthquake, according to the words of the apostle, “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:23-24). Today as well our Children in Gyumri continue to overcome the difficulties and make dedicated efforts to transform Gyumri into a prosperous and thriving city. The testimonies to this are the Catholic Church, built in the recent years, and the two restored historic churches, gracefully overlooking this square as symbols of the revival of Gyumri.
Giving thanks to the Lord for this blessed day of unity of prayer in Gyumri, together with our beloved brother Pope Francis, we bring to you, dear faithful, our plea and wish so that through the firm steps of faith, brotherly love, and hope, you may witness in this world to the following commandment of Christ, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34)
With this wish we also greet and extend our appreciation and blessings to government officials of Gyumri and the region, and to our faithful people of Shirak. We bring our appreciation and blessings to the Primate of the Diocese of Shirak, His Grace Bishop Michael Ajapahyan, and his co-serving clergy, as well as to the clergy of the Catholic community under the leadership of His Eminence, Archbishop Rafael Minassian. We wish them, with the support of the Lord, to successfully continue the pastoral care of their flock and the partnership in brotherly love.
We extend our prayer to Almighty God with the intercession of the Holy Apostles and all the witnesses of the Lord, for peace in the world, a prosperous and secure life for humanity and for the vibrancy of the holy Church of Christ.
Your Holiness, our dear brother in Christ, your visit to Gyumri is a spiritual renewal for the faithful of the region of Shirak, and it shall always be remembered with warmth and love.
Again with a joyous heart we reaffirm that your visit is a new testimony to the fraternal relationship between our churches.
May God keep steadfast the brotherhood and make fruitful the cooperation between our churches. Forever and ever. Amen.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Pope Francis’ homage at the Tzitzernakaberd
memorial in Yerevan was sealed by the heart wrenching melody of flutes. In the
distance a snow-covered Mt Ararat was visible, its grey stones a reminder of
the countless victims of the “Great Evil” ( Metz Yehghern ) that
ruthlessly decimated the Armenian people a century ago. A terrifying
extermination, which just hours before his visit to the monument, in the
presidential palace, the Pontiff had defined as a “genocide”, sharply articulating the word. It was a
genocide from which, he recalled, the great powers looked the other way away,
as then occurred in the other two major exterminations of the last century,
perpetrated through Nazism and Communism. It
is important to build upon this memory today, without watering it down or
forgetting it, because it is the source of peace and of the future, as the
Pontiff noted, signing the guest book after praying at the monument where an
eternal flame burns. Those heartfelt words summed up the significance of the
visit through which Francis, who was hosted in Etchmiadzin by Karekin II, once again paid homage to the Armenian people and reinforced the
ecumenical dialogue with the Apostolic Church which has grown particularly in
recent years, also with the exchange of visits. Thus, a memory on which to build the
future, in search of peace. Memory, indeed was indicated by the Pope as the
foundation of this building, along with faith and merciful love, in the homily
during the Mass celebrated in Gyumri for the small Catholic community: both
personal memory and also that of the people; a faith which does not belong to
the past but which is constantly “born and reborn from a life-giving encounter
with Jesus”; a love that tirelessly seeks to find paths of communion and create
bridges of unity in order to overcome division. The
Pontiff’s first gesture upon his arrival was a visit to Holy Etchmiadzin, where
he prayed with Karekin II along with the bishops and faithful of the Apostolic
Church. Christ is the sun of the Armenian people, the Pope said, recalling that
at the beginning of the fourth century the country was the first nation to be
declared Christian, in anticipation of the decrees of tolerance that emanated
in the Roman Empire after the last great persecution. Faith in Christ, Pope
Bergoglio added, is not “a garment to be donned or doffed”, but rather “an
essential part of its identity”: a gift to be accepted and preserved, as the
Armenian people have done over the passage of time and even at the cost of the
“eloquent and holy sign of martyrdom”. The
world waits for Christians to bear witness to fraternity and for this reason
the ecumenical journey has now taken on an “ exemplary value” even beyond the
confines of Christianity. Indeed, it calls for constant “appreciation for all
that unites us” and prevents the “exploitation and manipulation of faith”. This
same appeal resonated from the Pope with even greater emphasis in the address
he then delivered in the presidential palace. It is in fact of vital importance
that men and women of faith “join forces to isolate those who use religion to
promote war, oppression and violent persecution”, which exploit and manipulate
in the holy name of God. G.M.V….
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis participated in a prayer service at the Tzitzernakaberd Memorial to the Metz Yeghern, or ‘Great Evil’, in Armenia on Saturday morning, offering an intercessory prayer and extensive silent prayer for the dead.
The ecumenical prayer service, held in memory of those fallen in the massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915, consisted in the Our Father prayer, the reading of two Biblical passages (Heb 10,32-36 & John 14,1-13), and an intercessory prayer by Pope Francis.
Also present at the prayer service was a small group of descendants of the Armenian refugees whom Pope Pius XI hosted at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo after the Metz Yeghern.
At the conclusion of the service, the Holy Father stopped briefly to bless and water a tree in remembrance of his visit to the Tzitzernakaberd Memorial.
Below, please find a Vatican Radio English translation of the Pope’s intercessory prayer:
Christ, who crowns your saints,
who fulfills the will of your faithful
and looks with love and tenderness upon your creatures,
hear us from your holy heavens,
by the intercession of the holy Generatrix of God
and by the prayer of your saints
and those whom we remember today.
Hear us, O Lord, and have mercy.
Forgive us, expiate and remit our sins.
Make us worthy to glorify you with thankful hearts,
together with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever. Amen.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Bulletin for 06/26/2016
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with Armenia’s political, diplomatic and civil society representatives, recalling both the genocide suffered by the nation a century ago and the suffering of Christians around the world today.
The Pope’s poignant words came at the presidential palace in Yerevan on the first day of his pastoral visit to the country.
Philippa Hitchen reports:
As he greeted the Armenian president, Serzh Sargsyan, and the nation’s political leaders, Pope Francis spoke of the rich history and natural beauty of Armenia, believed by some to be the location of the biblical garden of Eden.
He talked of the depth of faith in this first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion, but he also spoke of the drama and tragedy that Armenians have endured throughout the past centuries. In particular he recalled last year’s centenary of the massacre, known as Metz Yeghern or Great Evil when over a million and a half Armenians were killed by Ottoman military forces. He called it a tragedy, made possible by twisted racial, ideological or religious aims, and, as he did a year ago, he departed from his prepared text to add the words “that genocide”, a word which Turkish authorities continue to deny.
Today, the Pope continued, Christians – perhaps even more than at the time of the first martyrs – experience discrimination and persecution for the mere fact of professing their faith. It is essential, he insisted, that political leaders work to end such suffering and conflict, protecting especially the victims of aggression, while promoting justice and sustainable development.
The Pope concluded by urging Armenians to do all they can to promote unity and overcome tensions with their neighbours, favouring full religious freedom, respect for minorities and the full participation of all in the life of society.
(from Vatican Radio)…