This afternoon, members of the Armenian community of New York and New Jersey held a rally of solidarity with the heroic people of Artsakh, victim of the cowardly and unconscionable aggression of Azerbaijan and Turkey, at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the United Nations.

Dear Fellow Brothers and Sisters,

On Sunday morning, when Armenians in the four corners of the world were preparing to celebrate the feast of the Holy Cross of Varak, which is the symbol of Divine love toward mankind, our compatriots in Artsakh were subjected to a terrible military attack launched by Azerbaijan and supported by Turkey.

As of today, despite all the sophisticated weaponry in its arsenal, Azerbaijan has failed in its goal of conquering Artsakh. We salute the heroic efforts of the soldiers and the people, both in Artsakh and in Armenia, who responded immediately and effectively against this unprovoked attack. We also mourn the loss of all those innocent victims of this senseless attack against our Armenian brothers and sisters.

Among other things, the common ground between the authorities of Azerbaijan and Turkey is Denialism. The perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 have denied the Truth over the last 105 years and have tried to bury it by all means. On the other hand, the authorities of Azerbaijan deny the fact that Artsakh, Nagorno Karabagh—which was annexed to Azerbaijan in 1923 by Stalin’s caprice and it was regained by her authentic owners by the constitutional right of self-determination in 1991—has been, is, and always will be Armenia.

We, Armenians, as citizens of the entire world, wholeheartedly support our compatriots in Artsakh and extend our spiritual and moral support for paving the road of Peace, Understanding, Cooperation and Prosperity in the entire region.

I urge my fellow brothers and sisters to engage in humanitarian aid and to direct their heartfelt donations to: armeniafund.org/donate or call (800) 888-8897 to bring relief and healing to our brothers and sisters in Artsakh.

Sunday, September 27, 2020, was a historic day for Saint Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church of Merrimack Valley, and noteworthy in all its fifty-year history. His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Prelate, payed a much-needed visit to a flock in need, adding to the festivities of the day with his great, spiritual presence.

Srpazan Hayr celebrated the Divine Liturgy and delivered a powerful sermon. (See the text below.)

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, under Srpazan Hayr’s leadership, and accompanied by the church’s pastor, Rev. Father Stephan Baljian, all the people went out in procession to the side yard of the church. At the completion of the Rite, and after the singing of “Giligia,” then came the joyful and emotion-filled moment, when the Saint Gregory Church edifice would be crowned with a gold colored Armenian-style cross.

This also became the crowning achievement and pinnacle of a complete and exhaustive renovation project which has lasted nearly 20 years and has seen the renovation of the church sanctuary, the adjunct Jaffarian Hall, the church offices and classrooms, the youth facilities as well as other reconstruction and renovation.

We note also that the cross consecration event, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, unfortunately had to be postponed from last April. Also, the weekend of this event had originally been slated to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the church’s consecration in September 1970, but this too has had to be postponed until next year.

In the afternoon, on the outside patio adjacent to the church, a modest reception was held, attended by the faithful. Following remarks by Der Stephan, who acted as master of ceremonies, Board of Trustees Chairman Gregory Afarian, and former chairman of the now dissolved Building Committee, Mr. P. Richard Shahtanian, Esq., Srpazan Hayr congratulated the entire community in his concluding remarks. The Prelate noted that, for all the obstacles and challenges brought about by the pandemic, the North Andover church could stand as an example to other church communities in the Prelacy. “Even though you did not get to celebrate your 50th Anniversary this year,” he said, “next year you will be able to celebrate Fifty years – plus One! And therefore that shows how you are always looking to achieve better.”

Today according to the Armenian Church Calendar is the feast of the Holy Cross of Varak. Mount Varak is located on the eastern shore of Lake Van. It was famous for its several monasteries, chiefly the Monastery of the Holy Cross. According to tradition, St. Hripsime was entrusted to safeguard a relic of the True Cross of Jesus Christ. During the persecution against her, St. Gayane and their religious companions, St. Hripsime decided to hide the relic. For three centuries, no one was aware of its location until in 653 an anchorite named Totig, with his disciple Hovel, after twelve days of severe fasting, was granted the honor to discover the whereabouts of the relic. On this occasion, Catholicos Nerses the Builder authored a hymn dedicated to the Holy Cross, and by his commission, the church of the Holy Cross was built on Mount Varak.

This feast of the Holy Cross of Varak is unique to the Armenian Church, which likewise celebrates with the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches three other feasts dedicated to the Holy Cross: the Apparition (around 7 May), the Exaltation (around 14 September), and the Discovery of the Holy Cross (at the end of October).

Like all the miracles performed by our Lord Jesus Christ and His followers, the miracle of the finding of the relic at Varak is beyond explanation by Natural Law. How is it possible that without training, without a common procedure of excavation or without the necessary tools, a piece of wood lost over three centuries earlier could be discovered? To what extent is this feast relevant when we live in a different time and in a different environment? I have highlighted the mystery and the power of the Holy Cross in my two previous reflections dedicated to its Apparition and Exaltation. On this occasion let me share my thoughts on three, important points with regard to the Holy Cross of Varak:

a. It is obvious in all cases of the miracles that rationality is not the right tool to use to explain miracles. A better approach is to not confuse the material and spiritual realms with each other, but rather to make the right choice by using our energy in the right direction, as instructed by the Almighty Creator, so that what seems impossible to us through material things is actually possible with Him through Faith. The significance of this feast is that two anchorites had diligently devoted themselves to severe fasting and prayer in order to discover a relic of the Cross. We know that Fasting along with Prayer was highly commended by our Lord Jesus Christ to perform miracles as we read in Mt 17:24.

b. There is no question that the Cross, apart from the Crucified One, has no value in all churches. Yet, it is identified with the sacred mission of the Incarnate Lord as well as highly commended as the herald of His second coming. We read in the Gospel of St. Matthew that Jesus, while describing His second coming, very clearly refers to the Cross, saying, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven” (Mt 24:45). Therefore, it is a model instrument of our Redemption. as it is described in an Armenian hymn: “It is a silent intercessor.” Having in mind two Dominical commands, “Ask, and it will be given” (Mt 7:7), and “Strive first for the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you” (Mt 6:33), the quest for the Cross of Varak was an authentic expression of godliness, the search was rewarded, and the action of faith was justified by the discovery. Hence it teaches us that our Lord always fulfills our God-pleasing requests to build up Faith, even through something which we think is inanimate.

c. It is true that neither the Holy Cross of Varak nor the Church of St. Nshan/Cross are accessible to us today; moreover, time and space have separated us from our ancestral roots. Nevertheless, we should always be reminded by the fact that as much as material things are essential to nourish our faith, yet the latter does not depend on the former. I wish we could celebrate this feast on the seaside grounds of Varak with a solemn procession elevating the Relic. We should refresh our faith with the living words of our Lord Jesus Christ who foretold us that “the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:23). How grateful should we be to our spiritual Teacher and Leader that He had unveiled and revealed so many details to keep unshaken the faith of His followers of all ages. Yes, time- and space-wise we are in different conditions, yet the fact is that Faith transcends them and bears fruit regardless of them. The message we receive by celebrating this feast is that both anchorites Totig and Hovel could have asked for something for their own benefit; yet their priority and aim were to find the sacred relic of our Savior. In other words, to insure the invisible presence of our Lord Jesus Christ to their contemporaries. With the same zeal of prayer and fasting, if only we could act in our daily life, I believe that so many spiritual, moral, social even political values and issues, which are the scapegoat of our interests and intellectual exercises, in the words of St. Paul of “worldly wisdom,” with the sparkle of the Eternal Light and Wisdom would be enlightened and insure a better life for all society.

As much as the pandemic devastated the normal course of our life in all its aspects, I believe that the positive outcome of it is that we should humbly acknowledge an infallible truth, that the more we guide our physical and intellectual gifts with Divine presence, it is for our advantage, progress and joy.

Therefore, even though we are far away from the Varak monastery, and we are deprived of the privilege to revere the holy relic, yet in the very words of our Lord Jesus let us celebrate the feast of the Holy Cross of Varak “in spirit and truth” by living the presence of the Crucified One and sharing that experience and joy with those who are deprived of it, and praising the All Holy Trinity. Amen.

The Prelate and the Religious and Lay Councils of the Prelacy were sad to learn that Sarkis Garibian, beloved husband of the late Mary Garibian, passed away on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. He was 89 years old.

The son of orphans, survivors of the genocide, Sarkis was born in Baghdad (Iraq). From his early years, he exhibited a gift for mathematics and competitive sports. His athletic career culminated as a key member of the Iraqi National Basketball team, medaling in the 1951 Pan Arabian games, in Cairo, Egypt.

Sarkis migrated to the United States in 1956. Soon after, his future bride, Mary, also came to the US. They were married in 1958, had four children, and eventually became American citizens. Sarkis earned his Electrical Engineering Degree from Indiana Tech University and a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University. He held various engineering positions at Solutia Corp (formerly Monsanto), eventually retiring as Manager of Research Information Systems in 1991. After retiring from Solutia in 1991, Sarkis started the Computer Resource Group unit of his son’s company, Applied PC, that focused on IT staff outsourcing.

Sarkis was active in the Armenian community. He was a lifelong member of the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church of Indian Orchards, where he also held the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees and was a delegate to the National Representative Assembly for many years, the ARS and ARF, as well as a member of the Eastern Prelacy Executive Council (treasurer, 1978-1980). He will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his son, Edward, daughter-in-law, Tanya, and grandchildren, Eddie John, Anna, and Nairi Garibian; his daughter, Rosemarie, her husband, Krikor, and their children, Sarkis and Sona Halajian; his daughter, Lenna, her husband, Aram, and their daughters, Gayane and Arevig Kaligian; and his daughter, Hasmig, and her husband, Zareh, and their sons, Armen and Raffi Samurkashian. He is also survived by his caring brother, Ara Garibian, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, and was predeceased by his brother Dikran Garibian.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Sarkis Garibian’s name may be made to St. Gregory Armenian Church of Indian Orchard or to the Armenian National Committee of America.

On Sunday, October 4, Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Prelate, will deliver the sermon during the Divine Liturgy at Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Church in Ridgefield, NJ. Very Rev. Fr. Sahag Yemishian, Vicar General and Pastor of Sts. Vartanantz, will celebrate the Divine Liturgy.

Join us live this Sunday at 10:30 AM by visiting ArmenianPrelacy.org/Livestream

To see the eighth list of donations, click here.

To see the general list of donations, click here.

Bible readings for Sunday, October 4, Fourth Sunday of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross are, Isaiah 17:7-14; 2 Corinthians 13:5-13; Mark 11:27-33.

Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” They argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”—they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have failed. But we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. This is what we pray for, that you may become perfect. So I write these things while I am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be severe in using the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

For a listing of the coming week’s Bible readings click here.

Today, Thursday, October 1, the Armenian Church commemorates Princes Sahag and Hamazasb, brothers who challenged the Arab rule in Armenia. When they were captured, they were given the choice of renouncing their Christian religion or death. They refused to convert and were martyred.

This Saturday, October 3, the Armenian Church commemorates the 72 Holy Disciples of Christ. The reference comes from the Gospel of Luke (Chapter 10, Verse 1): “After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.” (Note: Some sources say 72 disciples; others say 70). These disciples remained true to the Lord and their calling, and spread the Lord’s message. They were not random choices, but rather true disciples whose labors carried the message of the Lord throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.

Monday, October 5: St. Phocas, the Patriarch; St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Tuesday, October 6: Sts. Thekla and Barbara the virgins

On September 26, Siamanto Academy began the new school year, returning to its tradition of Saturday classes. This time, the academy saw the fulfillment of the Armenian National Education Committee’s long-held dream of having students from every state under its jurisdiction.

As remote learning test runs were already made via Skype in September 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic found Siamanto prepared. To look at the bright side, remote learning allowed Siamanto to admit students from every state via Zoom.

Approximately 60 students took part in the sessions from Wisconsin, Delaware, Missouri, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, and Illinois. Mayda Melkonian, Principal of St. Stephen’s Saturday School (Watertown, MA), and Talin D. Artinian, Principal of Taniel Varoujan Armenian School (Glenview, IL), were invited to join the Siamanto sessions. Both principals were instrumental in arranging the schedules for the 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grades at Watertown and 6^th and 7^th grades at Glenview, so the students had the opportunity to be part of the sessions. The teachers of the Armenian language sessions were Sossi Mishoyan, from Yerevan; Sossi Sousanian, from Budapest; Talin Giragossian, from Toronto, and Mary Gulumian, from New York, substituting Lena Nazarian (Detroit), who was unable to attend.

Archbishop Anoushavan opened the academic year with a prayer and congratulated ANEC for the realization of this wonderful project and expressed his appreciation to the principals for their cooperation, exhorting the students to take advantage of the great opportunity to enhance their knowledge and identity. Following the Prelate’s remarks, the principals and teachers said words of welcome to the young men and women. Raffi Rshtuni, of Rhode Island, offered an expert class on Armenian music after the language class.

What’s new about this is the expertise brought by the Armenian Virtual College, which puts the Armenian studies program on a par with global institutions. Moreover, students will receive academic credits at the end of the year.

Click here for online sponsorship of minors up to the age of 18.

Click here for online sponsorship of orphans who become students at a higher education institution upon turning 18.

You can always contact the Prelacy by email (sophie@armenianprelacy.org) or telephone (212-689-7810) for the sponsorship of both minors and university students in the program of the St. Nerses the Great Organization in Armenia.

From Hell to Heaven is a valuable eyewitness account written by Armenag Antranigian (Bedigian), who experienced the genocide first-hand and lived long enough to compile his own memoirs. This is the English translation of the Armenian yet unpublished original, written in the 1940s.

Copies of this book may be purchased from the Prelacy Bookstore

(books@armenianprelacy.org or 212-689-7810)

A remarkable number of people attended “Bedros Keljik's Armenian-American Sketches: Stories of Armenians in the Early 20th Century,” a Zoom webinar hosted by the Armenian Studies Program at California State University, Fresno, and co-sponsored by the Armenian Cultural Organization of Minnesota, the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS), and NAASR on Sunday, September 27. Moderated by Marc Mamigonian, the event featured a volume of short stories that depicts Armenian-American life in the early twentieth century, written by a member of the pioneer generation of immigrants, Bedros Keljik (1874-1959). The volume, edited by Christopher Atamian, Lou-Ann Matossian, and Barlow Der Mugrdechian, contains twenty short stories translated by the late Aris Sevag, one by Lou-Ann Matossian, and eight by Vartan Matiossian. The three editors, along with Prelacy Executive Director Dr. Vartan Matiossian, shared their insights about the author and their experience working on this project.

Unfortunately, there are no official recordings of concerts by Jean Ter-Merguerian. Only two CD-Rs of live and archive broadcast material have been released, while the 1966 Armenian Radio broadcast recording of Bach Double Concerto is part of a 2CDs compilation dedicated to his colleague, the violinist Anahit Tsitsikian. In 1999 Ter-Merguerian recorded his only commercial release, Gérard Gasparian’s Violin Sonata (1990), with the composer himself at the piano. Many of his recordings, yet unexplored, are reportedly at the Armenian Radio TV archives.

Previous entries in “This Week in Armenian History” are on the Prelacy’s web site (www.armenianprelacy.org). 

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Crossroads welcomes your letters (English and/or Armenian), as well as parish news, photographs, and calendar items. The deadline for submitting items is Tuesday evenings. Please write to crossroads@armenianprelacy.org.

SIAMANTO ACADEMY— Meets every Saturday via Zoom from 10:30 am-12:30 pm (ET). For information: anec@armenianprelacy.org or 212-689-7231.

TEACHERS TRAINING PROGRAM – Meets twice every Saturday via Zoom. For information: anec@armenianprelacy.org or 212-689-7231.

October 14—December 2: an 8-part Zoom Bible Study on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Wednesday evenings from 8:00-9:00 pm (EST), conducted by Archdeacon Shant Kazanjian, Director of Christian Education (Eastern Prelacy). To register, please email your name, email address, and phone number to shant@armenianprelacy.org.[AH2] 

October 17 —St. Gregory Church, Armenian Food Festival To-Go, Noon-5:00 pm, on the church premises at 135 Goodwin Street, Indian Orchard, MA. Limited quantities: Pre-order and pre-pay by October 13. For more information and to place an order, please call (413) 262-7251 or email: spariseau@charter.net

Visit the Catholicosate webpage at http://www.armenianorthodoxchurch.org/en/