In the wake of a horrific fire that swept through a crowded Coptic Church in Egypt this week, Diocesan Primate Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan extended …
On Saturday, following Transfiguration, the Armenian Church commemorates Saint Thaddeus, one of two apostles who preached in Armenia, and Saint Sandukht, daughter of King Sanadrouk, and the first martyr saint of the Armenian Church. It is not an exaggeration to say that these two—Thaddeus and Sandukht—were pioneer in bringing Christianity to Armenia in the first century. Princess Sandukht was converted to Christianity by Thaddeus, and she in turn converted many others.
“She gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7). The Son of God, the Savior of the world, was about to enter history. The long-awaited Messiah was arriving, and yet, when Mary and Joseph knocked on the innkeeper’s door, the answer was, “No room.”
But that “no” didn’t stop God’s plan. That innkeeper’s refusal didn’t stop Jesus from being born. God’s purposes are going to be fulfilled whether we participate or not. Yet the innkeeper missed out on the greatest blessing of his life. He missed the privilege of housing the Son of God.
The Treaty of Moscow was signed between Soviet Russia and Kemalist Turkey on March 16, 1921. The Russian side yielded to most Turkish demands, and signed a document that was utterly damaging to Armenia for the sake of Russian-Turkish “friendship and brotherhood.”
The treaty was the outcome of the second Russian-Turkish conference, held in Moscow from February 26-March 16, 1921, with the participation of two Russian (Georgi Chicherin, the Commissar of Foreign Affairs, and Jelal Korkmasov) and three Turkish representatives (Yusuf Kemal bey, Riza Nur bey, and Ali Fuad pasha). Stalin, the Commissar of Nationalities, lobbied against any claim from Turkey that could put the Russian-Turkish alliance in risk. In a letter to Lenin on February 12, 1921, he had written: “I just learned yesterday that Chicherin really sent a stupid (and provocative) demand to the Turks to clean Van, Mush, and Bitlis (Turkish provinces with enormous Turkish supremacy) to the benefit of Armenians.
