Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

Օn October 10, in the St. Gayane Monastery, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians;   within the framework of the Family year, a Joint Prayer Service was offered for the strengthening of the families and preservation of the sacred family values, on the occasion of the International Conference entitled “The Church and the Family in the 21st Century: Values and Challenges” being held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin from October 9 to 10.

Present at the Holy Service were the representatives of the Sister Churches, participants of the International Conference, large families and other pious pilgrims arrived at the Mother See. Following the prayer, His Holiness Karekin II conveyed His Pontifical message and Blessings to the attendees.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS KAREKIN II
SUPREME PATRIARCH AND CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS AT THE JOINT PRAYER SERVICE WITH THE PARTI CIP ANTS OF THE INTERNATION AL CONFERENCE ENTITLED “THE CHURCH AND THE FAMILY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: VALUES AND CHAL L ENGES”

Honorable participants of the International Conference,

Dear faithful children,

With spiritual gratitude, we convey our greetings to all of you at this joint prayer being held in the St. Gayane Monastery within the framework of the International Conference. We prayed our Almighty God for the strengthening of the family and family life, preservation of the sacred family values and overcoming the new challenges facing us. It is not easy to fight against the distortion of such cherished and inviolable value as the family is for us – Christians, in the modern world absorbed with the mentality of the relativity of the spiritual and perpetual values. However, the mission of the Church is to support and strengthen the family, the Church is the guarantee and basis on which the God-given ideology of the Christian family is formed unbreakably.  On this path we will succeed only due to the strengthening presence and vital words of our Lord; “Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5.36)

The Christian family as a God-given reality, today is the most important concept that unites all Christians, symbolically, the reflection of the universal family of God – our Heavenly Father, in our life and our society. In this sense, it also needs the protection and care of all of us as a forge of spiritual values and moral principles, a cherished path to bring the evangelical truths to life. It is not casual that at the dawn of the Christianity, St. Paul, The Pagans’ Apostle, regarded the denial of the family and family values directly equivalent to the apostasy: “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8).

Indeed, it is impossible to imagine the Christianity and the Church of Christ without family and family values, which are based on the supreme divine virtue – the love, the guarantee of the existence – the faith, the inspiring care – the hope. The first Christian communities were formed in the families, the first Christians celebrated Divine Liturgies around the family table, the seeds of the salvation massage of our Heavenly Archimandrite were sown in the family hearths sprouting and spreading powerful roots as a large Christian and united family tree.  

Dear ones, we all have a message from the Lord to remain zealous to the devotion and strength of the family, to keep the God-given family concept, its sacredness, national traditions, to nurture and enhance our spiritual and national life always remaining in the grace of the Lord’s adoption to sonship as a faithful family, as God’s own people.

We pray from the depths of our heart that Almighty God keep and preserve the families and the entire world in His care and love, grant His heavenly peace, mercy and alms to all human beings, today and forever. Amen.