Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On October 03, in the St. Gayane Monastery of the Mother See under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; a nationwide Prayer Service was offered in support of Artsakh and its patriotic defenders.
Following the Service His Holiness conveyed His Pontifical message to all Armenians.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS KAREKIN II CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS
AT THE NATIONAL PRAYER SERVICE IN SUPPORT OF ARTSAKH

(October 3, St Gayane Monastery, Armenia)
"And this is the victorythat conquers the world: our faith”
(1 John 5:4)

Dear Faithful,
Today, in our holy churches, and in our homes and workplaces around the world, we wholeheartedly pray to God in unity; for peace in Artsakh, the victory of our brave soldiers, and for the safety of our people.

Peace in the homeland and protection of the free and independent life of the nation is the sacred mission of every Armenian person. We are all committed to this mission through our life and service, and through our dedication and zeal for the defence of our sacred homeland. We are a peace-loving people, but now we are in a situation where we are forced to fight for peace. In these crucial days for our people and the homeland, we are resolute with the same devotion, courage of our forefathers, and bravery of spirit, to defend the homeland, and the right to a free and independent life. No force can shake the will of our people to live freely, which strengthens the arms of our heroic children fighting for freedom and fortifies their souls.

Brave-hearted solders of the Armenian Army and the many volunteers who left for Artsakh, are still resisting the attacks of Azerbaijan, which is carried out jointly with Turkey; pushing back the enemy in hostile battles.
Beloved, victory is determined by the strength of spirit and courage as well as by the invincible faith with which our people have always been strong; crowning their liberation struggles with glorious victory at crucial moments. We must overcome the trials and tribulations through our unity, invincible spirit, and faith; and with the blessings of God, the Armenian nation will continue to strengthen its statehood, and will multiply the accomplishments of a free life, by which our homeland Armenia and Artsakh have thrived throughout the past years of independence.
We are all encouraged and strong-willed, seeing the spirit of courage spreading from Artsakh these days, the victorious and invincible faith in facing the hardships of war. Today, in the words of the Apostle Paul, we appreciate the unwavering will of our dear brothers and sisters living in Artsakh, the willingness to make sacrifices for the defence and steadfastness of the homeland, and their determination to win. "We ourselves boast of you… for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring”. (2 Thessalonians 1:4).

Beloved, We are proud of our people:we are proud of our fathers and mothers who devote their children to the homeland, we are proud of the patriotic young people and freedom fighters rushing to the front line, we are proud of those who toil for the sake of the security and permanence of our lives and of every little-one and adult who shows support to Artsakh. We are proud of our sons: our soldiers and officers, who keep the borders of our homeland invincible, who fight with unconditional faith in victory. We are proud of the unity of our people, of the manifestations of unity, of the willingness and commitment of the Armenians around the world to help the Armenians of Artsakh, through which we must resist the enemy, and not allow a new genocide to take place.

We bring our Pontifical message to you again, dear sons and daughters in our homeland and all over the world, to remain strong with patriotism, with unwavering and courageous spirit, and to move towards victory with joint efforts and deeds. We must defend our homeland together, strengthen our independent statehood, and entrust a safe and peaceful country to our generations to come.
May God's protection and guardianship remain with our people and homeland.