The one-of-a-kind Armenian Picnic

 I read that St. Gregory Armenian Church Father’s Day Picnic will be held on June 15, 2025 on the church grounds. I was reminded of the blog I had written three years ago around the same time and at the same occasion, about the one-of-a-kind Armenian picnic I attended.. I had dedicated the blog in memory of Lucille Miller, the one-time doyenne of the Cincinnati Armenian community. This time around I also remember Mike Missak Bedrossian, the long-time resident in greater Cincinnati, who passed away last year. I reproduced the blog. Vaհe H Apelian

 It is the Armenian picnic season. 

This year, on June 19 (2022), Marie and I attended the Fathers’ Day picnic held on the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic church grounds, in Indian Orchard, MA. I had always wanted to be at the church. The priest graciously took us on a tour and showed us the church. This church, much like the other Armenian churches  in the greater New England, built in the first half of the last century, is a treasure trove of history. Each Armenian church in the North East U.S.A., I have attended  is a living museum of sort. We particularly enjoyed the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic church picnic in Indian Orchard, where I heard a one-time  popular song I had not heard for many and many years - "Sood e". 

On August 7, the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Worcester, MA, will hold its annual picnic. A tradition that surly dates back since the church was built there in 1947.

Each church thus carries on the tradition. But the picnic of the Cincinnati, OH Armenians I attended, after we move there in 1995, stands apart from the rest and remains etched in my memory as the true Armenian picnic I ever attended.

The company I was going to work for moved me to Cincinnati in March 1995 and had the rest of the family moved after the school was over and the boys attended Camp Haiastan. Serendipitous turn of events let us find out about the Armenian picnic in Cincinnati. The day the movers moved the family and the household stuff, Marie and her mother, had gone, of a all places, to a local hardware store where a handsome, blue-eyed man had approached and asked them quizzically in what language they were talking and had answered them in the same. It turned out it was Gilbert Badeer. Born and raised in Lebanon to an Armenian evangelical family, Gilbert knew and spoke fluent Armenian and had married an Armenian lady and had settled in Loveland, OH, where we were to settle. I knew of Gilbert because his father Dr. Henry Badeer was the chairman of the physiology department of the American University of Beirut, where my maternal uncle Antranig Chalabian worked. It was Gilbert who let us know about the picnic the Armenians in Cincinnati organized around Fathers’ Day and had us contact Mrs. Lucille Miller, who turned out to be the doyenne of the Cincinnati Armenians. 

Mrs. Lucille Miller, ne'e Anahid Dinglilian, ran their oriental rug business in downtown Cincinnati. Her parents Edward and Angella Dingilian had purchased the business from Hartenians in 1939. For the next six decades, the family continued the business but closed it sometime late 1990's. She was a lovely character and exuded the Armenian hospitality. It was she who let us know about  the date and the place of the Armenian picnic to be held and urged us to attend. We did, the following year.

It turned out to be a unique event. No other Armenian picnic I had attended was quiet like that. The picnic was not denominational or partisan in any way. All that had transpired in Armenian life during the past decades seemed to have left the native Cincinnati Armenians in a blissful ignorance. They had come together that day simply because they were Armenians as they understood Armenian. Each had brought a favorite recipe handed to them from their parents or grandparents. They had stories to tell of bygone days. They spoke of Carole Black, a TV executive, about whom "People Magazine" had written: "Cincinnati native, was raised by her Armenian grandparents after her parents split when she was a baby. Her grandmother, she says "made me feel I could do anything in life". They also remembered Helen Pierce, Haig Boghossian's sister, who had run the picnic and had the community going for many and many years.

The Fathers’ Day picnic was the only Armenian event for the Armenian community in greater Cincinnati. In its hey days they had met also during Christmas. Those were the days when along with Dingilian; Markarian had his famous, “mark of excellence” carpet store. Markarians had passed away childless leaving their business to their loyal long-time employee and had made a sizeable donation to AGBU. The Amirkhanians had their carpet business as well. They had sold the business and moved on but the new owners retained the name. The candy store Boghosian ran in downtown was closed long ago. 

In a matter of a few more years the Cincinnati Armenian picnic ceased to be held.  Nature continued to take its course and excise its toll. Some passed away, some moved away, and some were too caught up with their daily routine to make room for the Armenian picnic.

Whenever I read the announcement for picnic by an Armenian church, I remain reminded of the truly Armenian picnic I attended, of all places in Cincinnati, OH. We met just because we wanted to meet another fellow Armenian whom we would not meet, maybe not even hear of, for the remainder of the year, until the following year’s Fathers’ Day picnic.

Pat Postalian, in the picture below, organized the Cincinnati Armenian picnics after Helen Pierce had passed her the mantle.  

ԼtoR: Mike Bedrossian, Armand Yosmali,...

  

The one-of-a-kind Armenian Picnic

 

The one-of-a-kind Armenian Picnic

 I read that St. Gregory Armenian Church Father’s Day Picnic will be held on June 15, 2025 on the church grounds. I was reminded of the blog I had written three years ago around the same time and at the same occasion, about the one-of-a-kind Armenian picnic I attended.. I had dedicated the blog in memory of Lucille Miller, the one-time doyenne of the Cincinnati Armenian community. This time around I also remember Mike Missak Bedrossian, the long-time resident in greater Cincinnati, who passed away last year. I reproduced the blog. Vaհe H Apelian

 It is the Armenian picnic season. 

This year, on June 19 (2022), Marie and I attended the Fathers’ Day picnic held on the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic church grounds, in Indian Orchard, MA. I had always wanted to be at the church. The priest graciously took us on a tour and showed us the church. This church, much like the other Armenian churches  in the greater New England, built in the first half of the last century, is a treasure trove of history. Each Armenian church in the North East U.S.A., I have attended  is a living museum of sort. We particularly enjoyed the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic church picnic in Indian Orchard, where I heard a one-time  popular song I had not heard for many and many years - "Sood e". 

On August 7, the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Worcester, MA, will hold its annual picnic. A tradition that surly dates back since the church was built there in 1947.

Each church thus carries on the tradition. But the picnic of the Cincinnati, OH Armenians I attended, after we move there in 1995, stands apart from the rest and remains etched in my memory as the true Armenian picnic I ever attended.

The company I was going to work for moved me to Cincinnati in March 1995 and had the rest of the family moved after the school was over and the boys attended Camp Haiastan. Serendipitous turn of events let us find out about the Armenian picnic in Cincinnati. The day the movers moved the family and the household stuff, Marie and her mother, had gone, of a all places, to a local hardware store where a handsome, blue-eyed man had approached and asked them quizzically in what language they were talking and had answered them in the same. It turned out it was Gilbert Badeer. Born and raised in Lebanon to an Armenian evangelical family, Gilbert knew and spoke fluent Armenian and had married an Armenian lady and had settled in Loveland, OH, where we were to settle. I knew of Gilbert because his father Dr. Henry Badeer was the chairman of the physiology department of the American University of Beirut, where my maternal uncle Antranig Chalabian worked. It was Gilbert who let us know about the picnic the Armenians in Cincinnati organized around Fathers’ Day and had us contact Mrs. Lucille Miller, who turned out to be the doyenne of the Cincinnati Armenians. 

Mrs. Lucille Miller, ne'e Anahid Dinglilian, ran their oriental rug business in downtown Cincinnati. Her parents Edward and Angella Dingilian had purchased the business from Hartenians in 1939. For the next six decades, the family continued the business but closed it sometime late 1990's. She was a lovely character and exuded the Armenian hospitality. It was she who let us know about  the date and the place of the Armenian picnic to be held and urged us to attend. We did, the following year.

It turned out to be a unique event. No other Armenian picnic I had attended was quiet like that. The picnic was not denominational or partisan in any way. All that had transpired in Armenian life during the past decades seemed to have left the native Cincinnati Armenians in a blissful ignorance. They had come together that day simply because they were Armenians as they understood Armenian. Each had brought a favorite recipe handed to them from their parents or grandparents. They had stories to tell of bygone days. They spoke of Carole Black, a TV executive, about whom "People Magazine" had written: "Cincinnati native, was raised by her Armenian grandparents after her parents split when she was a baby. Her grandmother, she says "made me feel I could do anything in life". They also remembered Helen Pierce, Haig Boghossian's sister, who had run the picnic and had the community going for many and many years.

The Fathers’ Day picnic was the only Armenian event for the Armenian community in greater Cincinnati. In its hey days they had met also during Christmas. Those were the days when along with Dingilian; Markarian had his famous, “mark of excellence” carpet store. Markarians had passed away childless leaving their business to their loyal long-time employee and had made a sizeable donation to AGBU. The Amirkhanians had their carpet business as well. They had sold the business and moved on but the new owners retained the name. The candy store Boghosian ran in downtown was closed long ago. 

In a matter of a few more years the Cincinnati Armenian picnic ceased to be held.  Nature continued to take its course and excise its toll. Some passed away, some moved away, and some were too caught up with their daily routine to make room for the Armenian picnic.

Whenever I read the announcement for picnic by an Armenian church, I remain reminded of the truly Armenian picnic I attended, of all places in Cincinnati, OH. We met just because we wanted to meet another fellow Armenian whom we would not meet, maybe not even hear of, for the remainder of the year, until the following year’s Fathers’ Day picnic.

Pat Postalian, in the picture below, organized the Cincinnati Armenian picnics after Helen Pierce had passed her the mantle.  

ԼtoR: Mike Bedrossian, Armand Yosmali,...

  

Hagop Comments: "he held up a mirror"

On June 4, 2025, Hoory Minoyan posted an article in the “Armenian Weekly”, titling it: “Profane and unbecoming”, Church leaders condemn Pashinyan’s attack on Clergy”. Several readers commented to the posting, including I.  The following day, a reader by the name Hagop commented too. His comment stood apart. It addressed the matter and spared commentators, dissenting or not.  In short, in address, in context and in civility, while making a forceful note, it was a rare comment, as comments mostly go. I reproduced the comment here to archive it and offer it to interested readers who may not have read the comment.  Vaհe H  Apelian

«Enough with the Manufactured Outrage: The Church Must Also Face Accountability

Let’s be honest.

What we’re witnessing is not a “campaign” against the Armenian Apostolic Church, but rather the overdue unraveling of an untouchable institution’s immunity to scrutiny. Prime Minister Pashinyan didn’t wage war on the Church—he held up a mirror. And the reflection has made many uncomfortable, particularly those who’ve long used the cloak of sanctity to deflect from dysfunction, privilege, and hypocrisy.

The emotional avalanche triggered by the Prime Minister’s remarks should alarm us—not because he dared to question the Church’s role or criticize its condition—but because so many still believe that the Church is above reproach. This sanctified status has allowed generations of leaders within the Mother See to operate with minimal transparency and little civic accountability while benefiting from state funds, public trust, and near-absolute reverence.

Let’s unpack the facts.

Churches as storage rooms? That’s not fiction—it’s visible, documented reality. Photos from across Armenia show sacred buildings used to hoard construction materials, forgotten furniture, and personal junk. That is not piety; it’s negligence. Pashinyan didn’t fabricate this—it is symptomatic of a leadership failure within the Church, and it deserves public scrutiny.

And what was the Church’s response? Not repentance. Not a commitment to clean up and reform. But outrage, deflection, and name-calling. A bishop openly calling the Prime Minister “the chief madman of the country”? Others accusing him of serving “anti-Armenian forces”? This is the reaction of a deeply defensive institution, not a humble spiritual guardian.

More telling is the sudden invocation of Azerbaijan and “external enemies” every time the Church is challenged internally. This tired tactic—equating criticism with treason—is precisely what authoritarian regimes do to silence dissent. It’s absurd to suggest that confronting domestic corruption or incompetence is somehow “doing Baku’s bidding.” If anything, ignoring the rot at home is what weakens us in the face of our true adversaries.

Let us not forget: the Church has itself asked the government for help in preserving sacred sites—then resisted when it arrived in the form of honest assessment. You can’t demand public funding and moral influence while refusing public oversight. You can’t claim the moral high ground while dodging questions about personal conduct, financial management, and institutional accountability.

As for the Prime Minister’s personal tone—yes, it was jarring, perhaps deliberately so. But maybe it’s time we stop pearl-clutching over tone and start grappling with substance. Armenians have heard centuries of formal pleasantries while real problems festered. Maybe a little shock is exactly what was needed to shake the Church from its insular slumber.

This isn’t about tearing down the Church. It’s about asking it—finally—to rise to the moral and spiritual standard it so often demands from others. That requires humility, not hubris. Cooperation, not confrontation.

The Armenian people are not turning away from faith. But many are turning away from blind reverence toward institutions that have failed to modernize, adapt, and lead in the face of crisis. Faith endures. Trust must be earned.

If the Armenian Apostolic Church truly seeks to be a beacon for a new Armenia, it must welcome the disinfecting power of truth—not recoil from it.»

 

The Spirit Changes

 Rev. Avedis Boynerian graciously forwards to me the synopsis of his Sunday service ahead, enabling me to better follow his Sunday sermon from the pulpit of The Armenian Church of the Martyrs. With permission, I reproduced  the body of the Sunday, June 1, 2025 service here, as forwarded to me. Vaհe H Apelian 

So, he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).

We live in a world filled with 

discouraging situations, 

discouraging financial news and 

discouraged people.

There is too much 

unintentional and

negative thinking in our lives that 

we must overcome, or 

 we will become the victims of failure. 

After 9/11, 70% of the people in the US admit to feeling fearful, apprehensive, or discouraged about life. 

People who are discouraged generally 

lack confidence, 

lack enthusiasm, 

lack the conviction to do what is best. 

People who feel discouraged are 

less likely to love,

less likely to give, 

less likely to care,

less likely to serve as they should. 

{Today, many people are easily discouraged, deterred, detoured from the path God wants them to be on.}

 

Today, millions are depressed and need medication for their depression. 

(Listen)

{The number one reason that Christians do not ascend to the highest level of spiritual maturity is discouragement.}

Today, more Christians are disengaged from churches or Christian fellowships because they have somehow given in to feelings of discouragement, or have internalized their setbacks and say, “What is the use?” And throw the towel.

Our scriptural passage (Zechariah 4:1-9) encourages us, as it were to King Zerubbabel. 

{“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’, says the Lord Almighty”} (6). 

 

The context of God’s vision to His people is this: 

70 years earlier Babylon had destroyed Israel and all their cities, walls and temple. 

God gave Zerubbabel the assignment to rebuild the wall and temple. 

At first, Zerubbabel and the people had the enthusiasm for the task. 

They went through the 

+ first stage – rebuilt the altar, and 

+ second stage – laid the foundation of the Temple. 

Just after the second stage, opposition came - the local residents opposed the building project and were discouraging the workers from participating in the project. 

 

Zerubbabel started well, but even after 70 years, he could not finish what he had started and was greatly discouraged. Therefore, God intervenes and tells Zerubbabel, “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground” (7)

{God is able to not only tear down mountains of discouragement, but He is able to build what is necessary to finish what we have started.}

{NO matter what obstacles we may be facing, God is able to remove all obstacles and allow us to overcome them by His Spirit.}

God does things, others cannot do.

God specializes in things thought impossible.

God is greater and mightier than our greatest challenges. 

God’s resources are unlimited.

 

God’s Spirit provides us with the necessary strength, the necessary encouragement, and whatever we may need to be protected from all challenges. 

God is pro-active. {We just need to let go of our discouragements and to let God take control.}

Someone said, “If God is your Co-Pilot, change seats.” 

We do not need to be discouraged if someone 

- criticizes us, 

- attacks us or 

  - falsely accuses us of something we did not say or do.

God is bigger than all our challenges. 

God can do much with a little, because ‘a little is much with God.’

Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move” (Matthew 17:20).

 

God may allow certain obstacles to prevent us from doing what we would like to accomplish. 

{We need to believe and trust that God’s Spirit is sufficient for every obstacle that we go through.}

Most of us tend to let certain things go to our head. 

So {God tends to keep us in humble positions.

So, we are more likely to depend on Him for our needs.}

{God’s Spirit uses the discouraging circumstances to help us become mature Christians.}

Only when we put God first in everything, we will be able to remain encouraged despite the discouraging circumstances. We just need 

+ to wait on Him, and 

+ be of good courage, in the meantime, and 

+ He will do the rest 

+ He will strengthen our heart. 

We just need to allow God to make us better rather than bitter from life’s obstacles. God is able to deliver us from any and all discouraging people situations and problems.

Yes, God is able to provide our needs. We just need to trust Him to supply us our needs. 

- Some of us are discouraged because we believe that life should be a utopia of happiness and a victory and success. As a result of our unrealistic expectations, we become discouraged when things do not go our way.

- Some of us are discouraged because we think we do not have enough money, enough materials or enough resources. {Whatever we feel lacking in terms of money, materials or resources, God will richly supply us with abundance if we will simply, as He taught us, “ask, seek and knock.”}

Again, we remember the word “push” and use it as an acronym for the verb ‘pray’; 

“P” for “pray.”

“U” for “until.”

“S” for “something.”

“H” for “happens.”

Therefore, we need to “push” that is, we need to “pray until something happens.”

God’s Spirit has the ability to 

+ convict us + compel us and 

+ prompt us to do things we never would have thought of doing, on our own.

God’s Spirit has a way of motivating us out of our complacency by convicting us about our sins, our discouragements and our negative thinking. 

Jim Elliot, the famous martyred missionary to the Indians, once wrote about God’s ability to persuade anyone to do God’s will. He said: {“He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what He cannot lose.”}

Let’s not think that God encourages us just for our own benefit alone. God encourages us so we can encourage others. 

Life is NOT ‘Me, Me, Me’. Life is NOT ‘What’s in it for ME’. Life is meant to be lived for GOD and OTHERS.

Maybe many of us are in the same place with Zerubbabel. We have 

+ unfulfilled dreams, 

+ uncompleted goals, and 

+ half-built projects. 

+ We may have laid the foundation of the project, but 

+ we are discouraged and stuck. 

+ Unfortunately, we see the cup ‘half empty’.

God has good news for us today. He says: {“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” says the Lord} (6).

{What God is saying is this: “What you have started and could not finish, take heart, you will be able to finish it NOT by your might, but by my Spirit.”}

Therefore, 

- we do not need to be discouraged and give up 

- we do not need to be discouraged because of our financial difficulties.

- we do not need to be discouraged because no one encourages us.

- we do not need to be discouraged because there is no progress.

- we do not need to be discouraged because we do not see the end of the tunnel

- we need to be determined to finish what we have started not by our power, not by our might, but by God’s Spirit! 

{To finish our assignment, is to see it from God’s perspective - to see it, the way God sees it: FINISHED.}

To finish our assignment is to see that God is in control and He is able to encourage us to finish, also to see that God finishes what we have started. More importantly, God finishes what He has started.

 

We need to believe that when God is working in and through us, He will make the mountains reduced to nothing, He will help us find a way when there seems to be no way. {Regardless of how big our problems maybe, God is sufficient! Yes, indeed! He is! God is enough!} Yes, indeed! He is!

This morning, God wants to empower us by His Spirit. May we be willing to receive God’s Spirit into our lives. 

 

Michael Archbishop Achabahian Misinterprets

Vaհe H. Apelian

But who, in fact, has declared war against the Armenian Church?

By chance encounter, I witnessed a conversation between Archbishop Michael Achapahian and a journalist. I am referring to that exchange, given that the archbishop’s interpretation seems to reflect a commonly held perception among the clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Armenia.

Let me first state that I am deeply impressed by the historical lineage of the Achabahian family. The Achabahians have played an important role in preserving the Armenian Apostolic Church. In particular, I refer to the Catholicosate of Sis, where successive members of the Achabahian family served as Catholicoi. Naturally, the surname "Achabahian" carries symbolic weight, referring to the family entrusted with the honor of safeguarding the relics—specifically the "right hands"—of Saint Gregory the Illuminator and other saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Nevertheless, however honorable that legacy may be, the Achabahian name does not grant Archbishop Michael immunity from criticism, infallibility, or the exclusive right to uncontested authority.

Archbishop Michael Achabahian errs when he interprets certain remarks by Prime Minister Pashinyan as directed against the Armenian Church or the Armenian clergy as a whole. In reality, those comments seem aimed at specific celibate clergy members.

The archbishop’s interpretation appears to reflect another mindset, one perhaps not yet fully rooted but still widespread: he conflates the term "Armenian Church" solely with the Armenian Apostolic Church. However, the Armenian Church is a broader concept. It also includes the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Evangelical Church (more formally known as the Evangelical Church of Armenia). Indeed, the Armenian Apostolic Church is the Mother Church, but from it have branched off the Armenian Catholic Church (since 1742) and the Armenian Evangelical Church (since 1846). Who can underestimate the invaluable services these two churches have rendered to the Armenian people?

All three—the Apostolic, Catholic, and Evangelical Armenian churches—together comprise the concept of the Armenian Church. But the Armenian Church is more than just the sum of its religious institutions. According to biblical teaching, the Church is the people. As the Gospel of Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” At the entrance of the Armenian Evangelical Church in our family’s village of Keorkune, Kesab in Syria, this very verse is inscribed in Turkish but with Armenian letters—as a lasting testament.

These historical reminders serve to emphasize the same essence that underlies our differences. The Armenian (Evangelical) Church of Martyrs and The Saint Savior Armenian Apostolic Church of Worcester, claim to be the first Armenian Churches in the Western Hemisphere. The former bases its claim when its faithful gathered for worship in 1881; the later bases its claim when the faithful had their sanctuary built in 1891.  Who could argue to the contrary? The heart of the Church is the faifthul, and that clergy derive meaning from their calling to serve the faithful

Returning to the Prime Minister’s remarks, it must be clarified that they pertain to the conduct of certain celibate clergy, not to the Armenian Church as a whole. The Catholic Church in America went through similarly painful times when inappropriate, even criminal, behavior by some clergy was exposed. Yet none of those events were interpreted as an attack on the entire Catholic Church. In fact, the Catholic Church in America remains strong and had one of its members elected as the pope.

The Armenian Church, in its turn, must approach such controversies professionally, transparently, and honestly. These incidents must be investigated and either validated or refuted—but not use the Church as a sanctuary or a refuge.

The Armenian Church does not need to be defended—especially not from the very people who gave birth to it: the Armenian nation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Etchmiadzin reeds to reform: The tragedy of the cross of Karekin Catholicos

Vaհe H Apelian

It is a bold statement to make, especially coming from someone such as I, who claims no ecclesiastical expertise. The statement I made as the headline of this blog is a statemen that simply comes from my guts. I have been at Etchmiadzin only as a visitor. Obviously, a reader who comes across this blog may summarily dismiss it. Or the reader may give the benefit of the doubt read the attached and ponder. 

At this moment I am driven more by the writing of Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian. His narration of the last days and the last hours of the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin I Sarkissian in Etchmiadzin is for history, for all those who study Etchmiadzin as the historical spiritual center for the Armenians. But at this moment I am driven more by the statements Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian made.

It would not surprise me that Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian’s narration would go down in history as one of the finest Armenian church related writings. The archbishop noted about Etchmiadzin during the last days of Catholicos Karekin Sarkissian and wrote: “There are shadowy figures here and there. They are waiting. They come and go. They whisper. They show signs of impatience.”

The archbishop then spoke of, Karekin Catholicos as the Cilician eagle who “roosted on the slopes of Ararat, and how, contrary to all expectations, the eagle mortally tumbled down its wings clipped.” 

Finally, the Archbishop confided that the blow the cancer inflicted to Catholicos Karekin Sarkissian was severe, but, the archbishop elaborated further, writing: “The cancerous wound was open and deep. Everyone saw that wound. But the majestic soul died from other pains. To this day no one knows that pain and the depth of his other wound.”

After Catholicos Karekin Sarkissian’s death I remember reading some of the luminaries of Armenia at the time, among them the names Vazken Sargsyan, Silva Kaputikyan come to my mind, admitting that Catholicos Karekin Sarkissian was neglected and left alone.

Such and my remembrances of other readings, notably reading about Gomidas Vartabed’s experience in Etchmiadzin have left me with the impression, rightly or wrongly, that Etchmiadzin is an opaque place. It is not the open transparent spiritual center, or the religious institution one expects whose spiritual reach is global.  

“The last day and the last days of Catholicos Karekin” is the poignant narration by Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian. The write-up was placed in the testimonial book about the archbishop. The book is titled “Living Faith, the Life & Service of Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian.”  The coffee  table size pictorial book was edited by Iris Papazian (1996)

. Catholicos Karekin Sarkissian is the only Armenian supreme patriarch of the Apostolic Church that occupied two pontifical seats, that of Cilician Catholicosate in Antelias and in Etchmiadzin. 

I attached my translation of the archbishop’s narration’s narration I had posted earlier in two segments.  I linked them below for all those interested to read:

1. The Last Day and the Last Days of Catholicos Karekin – 1/2 – “The tragedy of the cross of Karekin Catholicos has come to its end.” https://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-last-day-and-last-days-of.html

2. The Last Day and the Last Days of Catholicos Karekin – 2/2 – “Srpazan, we lost Vehapar.” https://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-last-day-and-last-days-of_29.html

 

 

 

The Spirit Changes

Rev. Avedis Boynerian graciously forwards to me the synopsis of his Sunday service ahead, enabling me to better follow his Sunday sermon from the pulpit of The Armenian Church of the Martyrs. With permission, I reproduced  the body of the Sunday, June 1, 2025 service here, as forwarded to me. Vaհe H Apelian

 

The stained glass panel at the pulpit of 
The Armenian Church of the Martyrs

So, he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).

We live in a world filled with 

discouraging situations, 

discouraging financial news and 

discouraged people.

There is too much 

unintentional and

negative thinking in our lives that 

we must overcome, or 

 we will become the victims of failure. 

After 9/11, 70% of the people in the US admit to feeling fearful, apprehensive, or discouraged about life. 

People who are discouraged generally 

lack confidence, 

lack enthusiasm, 

lack the conviction to do what is best. 

People who feel discouraged are 

less likely to love,

less likely to give, 

less likely to care,

less likely to serve as they should. 

{Today, many people are easily discouraged, deterred, detoured from the path God wants them to be on.}

 

Today, millions are depressed and need medication for their depression. 

(Listen)

{The number one reason that Christians do not ascend to the highest level of spiritual maturity is discouragement.}

Today, more Christians are disengaged from churches or Christian fellowships because they have somehow given in to feelings of discouragement, or have internalized their setbacks and say, “What is the use?” And throw the towel.

Our scriptural passage (Zechariah 4:1-9) encourages us, as it were to King Zerubbabel. 

{“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’, says the Lord Almighty”} (6). 

 

The context of God’s vision to His people is this: 

70 years earlier Babylon had destroyed Israel and all their cities, walls and temple. 

God gave Zerubbabel the assignment to rebuild the wall and temple. 

At first, Zerubbabel and the people had the enthusiasm for the task. 

They went through the 

+ first stage – rebuilt the altar, and 

+ second stage – laid the foundation of the Temple. 

Just after the second stage, opposition came - the local residents opposed the building project and were discouraging the workers from participating in the project. 

 

Zerubbabel started well, but even after 70 years, he could not finish what he had started and was greatly discouraged. Therefore, God intervenes and tells Zerubbabel, “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground” (7)

{God is able to not only tear down mountains of discouragement, but He is able to build what is necessary to finish what we have started.}

{NO matter what obstacles we may be facing, God is able to remove all obstacles and allow us to overcome them by His Spirit.}

God does things, others cannot do.

God specializes in things thought impossible.

God is greater and mightier than our greatest challenges. 

God’s resources are unlimited.

 

God’s Spirit provides us with the necessary strength, the necessary encouragement, and whatever we may need to be protected from all challenges. 

God is pro-active. {We just need to let go of our discouragements and to let God take control.}

Someone said, “If God is your Co-Pilot, change seats.” 

We do not need to be discouraged if someone 

- criticizes us, 

- attacks us or 

  - falsely accuses us of something we did not say or do.

God is bigger than all our challenges. 

God can do much with a little, because ‘a little is much with God.’

Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move” (Matthew 17:20).

 

God may allow certain obstacles to prevent us from doing what we would like to accomplish. 

{We need to believe and trust that God’s Spirit is sufficient for every obstacle that we go through.}

Most of us tend to let certain things go to our head. 

So {God tends to keep us in humble positions.

So, we are more likely to depend on Him for our needs.}

{God’s Spirit uses the discouraging circumstances to help us become mature Christians.}

Only when we put God first in everything, we will be able to remain encouraged despite the discouraging circumstances. We just need 

+ to wait on Him, and 

+ be of good courage, in the meantime, and 

+ He will do the rest 

+ He will strengthen our heart. 

We just need to allow God to make us better rather than bitter from life’s obstacles. God is able to deliver us from any and all discouraging people situations and problems.

Yes, God is able to provide our needs. We just need to trust Him to supply us our needs. 

- Some of us are discouraged because we believe that life should be a utopia of happiness and a victory and success. As a result of our unrealistic expectations, we become discouraged when things do not go our way.

- Some of us are discouraged because we think we do not have enough money, enough materials or enough resources. {Whatever we feel lacking in terms of money, materials or resources, God will richly supply us with abundance if we will simply, as He taught us, “ask, seek and knock.”}

Again, we remember the word “push” and use it as an acronym for the verb ‘pray’; 

“P” for “pray.”

“U” for “until.”

“S” for “something.”

“H” for “happens.”

Therefore, we need to “push” that is, we need to “pray until something happens.”

God’s Spirit has the ability to 

+ convict us + compel us and 

+ prompt us to do things we never would have thought of doing, on our own.

God’s Spirit has a way of motivating us out of our complacency by convicting us about our sins, our discouragements and our negative thinking. 

Jim Elliot, the famous martyred missionary to the Indians, once wrote about God’s ability to persuade anyone to do God’s will. He said: {“He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what He cannot lose.”}

Let’s not think that God encourages us just for our own benefit alone. God encourages us so we can encourage others. 

Life is NOT ‘Me, Me, Me’. Life is NOT ‘What’s in it for ME’. Life is meant to be lived for GOD and OTHERS.

Maybe many of us are in the same place with Zerubbabel. We have 

+ unfulfilled dreams, 

+ uncompleted goals, and 

+ half-built projects. 

+ We may have laid the foundation of the project, but 

+ we are discouraged and stuck. 

+ Unfortunately, we see the cup ‘half empty’.

God has good news for us today. He says: {“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” says the Lord} (6).

{What God is saying is this: “What you have started and could not finish, take heart, you will be able to finish it NOT by your might, but by my Spirit.”}

Therefore, 

- we do not need to be discouraged and give up 

- we do not need to be discouraged because of our financial difficulties.

- we do not need to be discouraged because no one encourages us.

- we do not need to be discouraged because there is no progress.

- we do not need to be discouraged because we do not see the end of the tunnel

- we need to be determined to finish what we have started not by our power, not by our might, but by God’s Spirit! 

{To finish our assignment, is to see it from God’s perspective - to see it, the way God sees it: FINISHED.}

To finish our assignment is to see that God is in control and He is able to encourage us to finish, also to see that God finishes what we have started. More importantly, God finishes what He has started.

 

We need to believe that when God is working in and through us, He will make the mountains reduced to nothing, He will help us find a way when there seems to be no way. {Regardless of how big our problems maybe, God is sufficient! Yes, indeed! He is! God is enough!} Yes, indeed! He is!

This morning, God wants to empower us by His Spirit. May we be willing to receive God’s Spirit into our lives.