Entries by stjohn

RIBBONS OF LOVE

I read this story about a traveler who found himself sitting next to a man on a train. The man looked burdened, weighed down by something heavy—something no one should carry alone. After sitting in silence for a while, the man finally opened up. He had just been released from prison and, in that moment of vulnerability, also admitted that his imprisonment had brought shame on his family and that they had neither visited him nor written much.

He tried to convince himself that maybe they were just too poor to make the trip or too uneducated to write. And before his release, he wrote one last letter to his family suggesting that if his family had forgiven him, they should put up a white ribbon in the big apple tree near the tracks as a signal. If they didn’t want him back, they were to do nothing; he would understand, stay on the train, and head West.

72 HOLY DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

On Saturday, October 5, 2024, 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…

THE BOY AND THE BOAT!

I love the story of the little boy who built a toy sailboat. He put his heart and soul into making that boat just right. He crafted it with care and eagerly anticipated the day he could sail it. When that day finally came, he set his little boat in the water and watched with pride as it floated out. But in a moment, the wind picked up and swept the boat downstream, out of sight. The boy chased after it, searching, but it was gone.

Weeks later, as he walked by a pawnshop, something caught his eye. There in the window was his very own boat! Excitedly, he rushed inside and asked the shopkeeper for his boat. But the shopkeeper said, “Sorry, son, I bought that boat. If you want it back, you’ll have to pay the price.”

DEATH OF ARMAN KOTIKIAN

Arman Kotikian, a poet and translator, was mainly known as an actor with a half-century on Armenian stages.

He was born Arakel Kotikian in Trabzon (Trebisonda) on September 27, 1896. After elementary studies in the nearby village of Elevi, where his family lived, he moved to Trabzon to live with his brother and continued his studies at the local Armenian school. Only him, his brother and sister, out of their huge family, survived the Armenian Genocide.

After the occupation of Trabzon by Russian forces in 1916, Arman Kotikian was devoted to the gathering of orphans, participated in the creation of an orphanage-school in the building of the Girls’ School in Trabzon,…

THE LIVING STONES

“You are living stones that God is building into his spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5).

What a beautiful image St. Peter gives us of our lives, our faith, and our purpose! He calls us “living stones”, being built up into something incredible—a spiritual house for the Lord. When St. Peter wrote these words, he must have been thinking about the magnificent Temple from the Old Testament, a place where God’s presence dwelled.

When King Solomon built the Temple, there was something remarkable about the process. The Bible tells us that he arranged the construction in such a way that there was only peace and quiet on the construction site: “In building the temple, only blocks dressed at

DEATH OF SARKIS DARCHINIAN

There are lesser-known names who do the hard work of documentation to construct the building of history. Sargis Darchinian took that role for the Armenian community of Georgia.

Sargis Darchinian was born on September 5, 1947, in Tbilisi (Georgia). He graduated from school in 1966 and, simultaneously, from sculpture and modeling at technical school. In 1967 he started working at the jewelry factory as designer and engraver.

He started photography during his adolescence, and gradually went into documentary photography, contributing to various Georgian publications. In the early 1970s, he met Alexander Arutiunov, a well-known Armenian photographer of Tbilisi, and, following his advice, focused on photography of architectural and historical type, as well as օf “urban types.”

THE BALM OF HEALING

During the Blessing of the Holy Muron Service, I had the immense honor of holding a special container carrying the precious Balm oil. As I handed it to His Holiness Karekin II, I watched as it was mixed with olive oil and other sacred ingredients. And in that moment, something stirred within me. I couldn’t help but reflect on the deeper significance of what was happening.

This balm is one of the main ingredients of the Holy Muron and represents the healing. In the book of Jeremiah, chapter 8, verse 22, the prophet cries out, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why, then, is there no healing for the wound of my people?” Jeremiah was lamenting the spiritual brokenness of God’s people. He was asking, “Why are we still suffering if healing is available?”

Isn’t that a question we all face at some point in our lives? After my car accident two years ago, I grappled with these very questions. For a time, I wondered if I would ever fully recover—if the healing I desperately prayed for would ever come.

THE BLESSING OF THE HOLY MURON

Today is a day like no other—a day filled with God’s presence, His anointing, His grace, and His Holy Spirit! We have gathered here, at the very heart of our faith, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, for a sacred moment—the Blessing of the Holy Muron by the hand of His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos of All Armenians.

Throughout Scripture and history of the Christian Chruch, the oil has been used for anointing. Kings and prophets were anointed with oil, patriarch and priests were anointed with oil, children at their baptism and even the sick were healed by anointing with oil. The oil represents the presence and work of the Holy Spirit, moving in our lives, empowering us, and marking us as God’s chosen people. And today, this Holy Muron, this sacred oil, is a sign that God’s Spirit is alive and working in His church and in each of us.

THE RECONSECRATION OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN CATHEDRAL

Today is a day of new beginnings. We stand here at the heart of our faith, in a place where heaven touched earth. Holy Etchmiadzin, the very first Christian cathedral built in the world, has been renewed, restored, and reconsecrated. After centuries of standing as a beacon of hope, a symbol of God’s presence among His people, it has emerged once again, shining brighter than ever before.

As we stand in awe of its beauty, we’re reminded of something powerful: God is always at work restoring, renewing, and rebuilding our lives. We, the people of God, have been through our own season of wear and tear, like the stones of this holy church that weathered countless storms. But God promises, “I will restore the ruins and rebuild them as they were in the days of old” (Isaiah 58:12). When things seem broken when the weight of life’s challenges feels too heavy to bear, we can trust that God’s plan is to restore us, to make us stronger and more radiant than before.

THE SEAL OF IDENTITY

We all have something in our lives that reminds us of where we come from. It could be a family heirloom, a tradition passed down through generations, or even a place that holds deep meaning in our hearts. For us, as Armenians, one of the most powerful connections to our history, to our faith, and to our identity is Muron, the blessed oil of the Armenian Church.

Throughout the history of our Church, Muron has symbolized an indelible mark, the seal of the Holy Spirit upon the faithful. Whether at baptism, ordination, or the consecration of churches and paintings, it serves as a reminder of who we are in Christ. It speaks of our belonging to something far greater than ourselves—the Armenian Apostolic Church, the body of believers who share in the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior.