I SSN 2 4 7 1 -4704 Volume 3/ Number 3 2017
The Գ Ա Ն Ձ Ա Ր Ա Ն
reasury The Armenian
Cross
Forgiveness – Come On In! Grigor Datevatsi and the Cross of Christ Praying for the Dead:What are we Doing?
Volume 3 Number 3
The Treasury Features 4
The Armenian Cross and Armenian Christianity Explore a distinctive symbol of our church—the Armenian Cross—and see what it reveals of the Armenian Church’s unique experience of Jesus Christ. By V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan
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Worthy of Mercy Praying for the Dead in the Armenian Church Prayer for the dead is one of the oldest practices of the Church, and one of the most exquisite ways in which Christians express their faith. Yet rarely is the profundity of this vital custom of the Church realized. What is so compelling about praying for our deceased loved ones? By Dn. Eric Vozzy
of Datev on the 18 Gregory Cross of Christ A prolific fourteenth century Armenian writer, preacher and spiritual educator speaks to us on the subject of the Cross. By Dr. Roberta Ervine
Departments the Editor’s Desk 3 From Remembering the Cross and THE WAY 16 Words /nerel/to forgive ներել
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF ST. VOSKI
The Fellowship
Vo l u m e 3 N u m b e r 3
of St. Voski
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Photo Credits Front Cover: Carved Cross - Unidentified source Front Inside Cover: Armenian Cross Stone dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide of April 24, 1915; Balikli Armenian Cemetery, Istanbul; photo by Alexanyan - www.flickr.com Page 2: Armenian Cross - crafted by B. Arzoumanian; Echmiatzin, Armenia Page 3: Shine - Unidentified source Page 4: Carvings of Crosses - Unidentified source Page 5: Cross-Stones at Gheghard Monastery property of Fr. Daniel Findikian Page 5: Crucifix - pixabay.com Page 6: Wooden Cross - property of Fr. Daniel Findikian Page 6: Cross - stone fragment - property of Fr. Daniel Findikian Page 7: Modern khachkar - property of Fr. Daniel Findikian Page 7: Fragment of a lacework stone - cross www.commons.wikimedia.org Page 8: Wings - by Joel Luo; www.flickr.com Page 11: Prayer Time - by Hasmik Ajamian Page 12: Spiral of Time - by Zeek; www.flickr.com Page 13: Remember - by Fr. Sahak Martirossyan Page 14 -15: Cross - Stones at Gladzor University, Armenia - by Dr. Harout Tanielian; www.flickr.com Page 16: Forgive - Unidentified source Page 17: Prayer - Unidentified sourceg Page 18-19: Monastery of Tatev - Unidentified source Page 20: Hovhan Vorotnetsi and Grigor Datevatsi - www.alamy.com Page 21: Datevavank - by Michel Olea; www.flickr.com Page 22: Crucifixion - Unidentified source Page 23: Cross - Stone by Dsegh village - by Massis Sirapian; www.flickr.com Page 25: Shine Through - by Sako Tchilingirian; www.flickr.com Page 26: Cross - Stones at Sevanavank - by Tigra K; www.flickr.com Back Inside Cover: Portrait of Grigor Tatevatsi; 1449 AD - www.hy.wikipedia.org Back Cover: Sunrise at Datevavank - Unidentified source
Publisher: The Fellowship of St. Voski Editor-in-Chief Dr. André Markarian Editorial Board Rev. Fr. Ghevond Ajamian Dr. Roberta Ervine V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan Dn. Eric Vozzy Text Editor Nicole Whittlesey Publication Designer Hasmik Ajamian All Bible verses are from the 1805 Zohrab Bible (Armenian) or the Revised Standard Version (English, RSV) unless otherwise specified.
Nor Voskiank/Նոր Ոսկեանք is a fellowship of men and women working toward the revival and restoration of Armenian Orthodox theology and life within the Armenian Church at large. The fellowship is named after St. Voski and his companions (the Voskians) who were a group of Christian martyrs and monastics from the first century, many of whom who were students of St. Thaddeus. According to tradition, St. Thaddeus ordained as their leader a priest called Chrysos (Greek for “gold,” Armenian “voski”), and thereafter the group came to be known as the Voskians. In the spirit of the Voskians, Nor Voskiank seeks to support the cultivation of a thriving, united, worldwide Armenian Christian communit y through prayer, fellowship, and the publication of practical educational resources covering the entire breadth of Christian life as lived, interpreted and testified to by the Armenian Church since ancient times. The Treasury/Գանձարան is published quarterly and subscriptions are available by request. To contact us or donate, please visit us at
www.StVoski.org Nor Voskiank is a tax-exempt not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that depends entirely on your generous support for its ministry. For a one-year subscription to The Treasury, please send a tax-deductible gift of $30 payable to Fellowship of St. Voski, P.O. Box 377, Sutton MA 01590. Bulk subscriptions also available by request. Every issue of The Treasury is available to read free of charge on our website to all interested. You can also visit us on Facebook at Fellowship of St. Voski.
ISSN 2471-4704
Volume 3/ Number 3
From the Editor’s Desk
Remembering the Cross
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mong its many merits, the season of autumn is filled with the celebration of several feasts of the Cross in the Armenian Church. The principal Feast of the Cross is known as Khatchverats/Խաչվերաց (Exaltation of the Holy Cross), which is observed on the Sunday nearest September 14, and derives from the original consecration of the churches built over the Cross and Tomb of Christ in the early fourth century. This observance includes a grand procession where the faithful elevate the Cross, decorate it with flowers and sweet basil, and recite prayers and hymns of veneration. Two Sundays following Khatchverats we observe the Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak (Վարագայ Ս․ Խաչ), a uniquely Armenian feast of the Cross that commemorates the third century placement of a relic of Christ’s cross at the Monastery of Varak (Վարագավանք). According to Armenian tradition, St. Hripsimé and her companions brought with them a piece of the Holy Cross and hid it on Armenian soil in the region of Mount Varak when they were fleeing from persecution. The relic remained unidentified until the seventh century when, through a vision given to a pious monk named Totig, its precise location was revealed buried inside the Monastery of Varak. Finally, four Sundays later, the Armenian Church commemorates the discovery of the true Holy Cross (Գիւտ Խաչի). In the 4th century, excavations were underway in Jerusalem to identify the location of Golgotha, the hill where Jesus was crucified. It was then that the authentic Cross of Christ was found and miraculously identified by St. Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, who then oversaw the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at the site of its discovery. Why then in the Armenian Church do we do we pay such heavy festal attention to an ancient instrument 2 The Treasury / 2017
of torture used to kill the Messiah? Well, as several of the articles from this edition of Kantsaran point out, the Cross is “a constant reminder of God’s power over death and of his love for his people” (see article “The Armenian Cross and Armenian Christianity” by V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan). The paradoxical mystery of the Cross is revealed to us in the opening words of the Khatchverats hymn “Payd Genats” (Փայտ Կենաց): “O Tree of Life, in exchange for the fatal fruit (of Eden), you gave us the fruit of life, Jesus Christ.” The Holy Week hymn “Daradzyal” (Տարածեալ) describes in more remarkable detail how Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross undid Adam’s original sin, subsequently restoring the entire created order: “Hand in place of hand that stretched forth, feet in place of feet that ran, [a new] tree in place of the tree bearing bitter fruit, replacing death with life.” Despite the seemingly enigmatic results that the Cross of Christ brought about, Christians of generations past and present continue to revere this holy piece of wood. Even though the exact dates of the various feasts of the Holy Cross change every year, their timeless message remains eternally true: “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his Cross” (Colossians 1:19-20). Let us therefore rejoice in the message of the Holy Cross and glorify the One who by dying upon it, saved us all! Amen.
Ode for the Holy Cross St. Gregory of Narek
I speak of the Lion’s roar, crying on the four-winged cross; On the four-winged cross crying, calling to the depths of the earth. The depths of the earth trembled, they shook beneath his mighty voice. This mighty voice I heard loosens the bonds I’m in. He longs to loosen my bonds, to reverse the captivity of the captives. I say, “Blessed are the captives whom the Lion raised.” Those raised by the Lion expect no further suffering; They expect no suffering, they await the wreaths that wither not. They receive the braided wreaths from the Lion, the immortal King. Let us give glory to the Redeemer who rescued the captives from prison. from The Festal Works of St. Gregory of Narek by Abraham Terian. Liturgical Press, 2016, p171.
The Armenian Cross and Armenian Christianity by V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan
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veryone knows that Armenia became the first Christian nation and that the Armenian Church is one of the most ancient churches in Christendom. But what is exceptional about the Armenian Church is not her longevity. Much more significant is the Armenian Church’s intense and compelling faith in Jesus Christ that sustained her people over all these centuries. More than mere devotion to religious dogmas and traditions, historically the faith of the Armenians was the product of a deep, intimate and tangible bond with Jesus Christ. Our ancestors prayed to a living Savior whom they knew from first-hand experience. They sensed his invisible presence among them. They felt his guiding hand in their lives and in their history. They heard his mysterious voice answering their prayers. In tragedy they cried out to him. The history of the Armenian Church is the wonderfully unique story of a people walking with the Savior. All around us are sacred signs and symbols of the distinctive Christian experience of the Armenian people through the ages. The words of our Badarak, the melodic turns of our sharagans, the gestures of our liturgical rituals, the colors and contours of our sacred icons, and the proportions of our church architecture reflect, often in subtle ways, the Armenian Church’s Christian vision. These distinctive features are the stuff of our church’s theology 4 The Treasury / 2017
and spirituality, which sometimes diverge in remarkable and surprising ways from that of other Christian denominations. More important, these signs and symbols reveal precious and time-tested insights into the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us explore just one such distinctive symbol of our church—the Armenian Cross—and see what it reveals of the Armenian Church’s unique experience of Jesus Christ.
The Cross is Everywhere The Cross is the central symbol of Christianity. A Roman execution device reserved for only the most heinous criminals, the cross was the forerunner of today’s lethal injection or electric chair. Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion and he died on the Cross. Yet on the third day he did the impossible: He emerged from his tomb alive, walking again among his friends and followers for forty days before ascending to heaven. As the Armenian Easter hymn proclaims, “By his death he destroyed death, and by his resurrection he has given us life” [մահուամբ զմահ կոխեաց եւ յարութեամբն իւրով մեզ զկեանս պարգեւեաց]. St. Paul writes that “The message of the Cross…is the power of God” [1Corinthians 1:18]. For
Christian Armenians, a subjugated minority for most of their history, a loving God’s power over all enemies—visible and invisible—gave them hope in an otherwise hopeless world.
Antasdan service, tracing out a Cross, as we solemnly process to the four compass points, we actually bless the entire world. Many other denominations are more reticent about displaying the Cross. In their sanctuaries one finds little more than an altar cross, if that. By contrast, the Armenian Church genuinely gloats in the Cross and its message. Like St. Paul, who said, “Far be it for me to glory but in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Christian Armenians define themselves by the Cross as the ultimate symbol of God’s sacrificial love for us, of his proven triumph over every pain and injustice—and even over death itself, and of his desire to share his divine, eternal life with us.
Where is Jesus? Crosses carved into the exterior walls of the Monastery of Geghart, Armenia’s “Monastery of the Caves,” which for centuries housed the sword with which Jesus was stabbed on the Cross.
And so our people turned as a nation to Jesus and surrounded themselves with the Cross as a constant reminder of God’s power over death and of his love for his people. Walk into and around any medieval monastery in Armenia and you will find that virtually every inch of wall space from the dome to the floor is covered in crosses carved into the stone—some of them artistic masterpieces by unknown medieval sculptors, others simple graffiti engraved by anonymous modern pilgrims. The Cross hangs from every wall of the church. The floor plan of traditional Armenian churches forms a Cross. The Cross is enthroned in the center of the altar. It is held in the priest’s right hand. It is worn around the neck of every baptized person. It adorns church vestments and altar cloths. It crowns the church dome. The priest traces the Cross in the air over our heads when he offers the blessing of peace [ խաղաղութիւն ամենեցուն /khaghaghootyoon amenetsoon]. We imprint it on our own bodies when we make the sign of the Cross. We bless everything by sealing it with the Cross—water, grapes, our homes, incense, newlybuilt churches, newly-married couples, and the soil covering a casket. We even bless new Crosses with a cross! In the
Walk into any Catholic Church in the world and hanging over the altar you will see a monumental crucifix, a painting or sculpture of Jesus nailed to the Cross. Traditional Catholic spirituality centers on the agonizing image of Jesus bleeding, humiliated and seemingly defeated on the Cross. The message is clear: this is how much God loves humanity, that he would sacrifice his only Son to save the world.
By contrast, only very rarely in the Armenian Church do we see the image of Jesus on the Cross. Instead, we venerate Չէ աստ, քանզի the naked Cross. Where is Jesus? յարեաւ, որպէս “He is not here; for he has risen, ասացն. as he said” [Matthew 28:6]. To — Մատթ. ԻԸ.6 be sure, Armenian Christianity www.StVoski.org
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steadfastly professes that Jesus was betrayed, he suffered, and he died on the Cross. Yet we, like other Orthodox Churches, prefer the stark image of the naked Cross, the Cross as it appeared on Easter morning. Jesus is no longer hanging on the Cross. He has triumphed over it. Christ is risen from the dead, alive and active in our midst, as we sing every Sunday: Քրիստոս ի մէջ մեր յայտնեցաւ/Kreesdos ee mech mer haydnetsav, “Christ is revealed in our midst.” We look to the Cross with joy and hope because by his resurrection, our Savior has conquered it and every lethal power.
The Cross is Alive The Cross from which Jesus hung was little more than a log planted into the ground with a horizontal cross-beam tethered to it. It was hardly designed to be a thing of beauty. Many crosses that we see in churches and hanging from people’s necks are simple, unadorned miniature versions of Jesus’ wooden Cross. In their stark simplicity, they lead our minds and hearts directly to the grim events of Holy Friday. But Armenians look to the Cross as something more than a mere visual aid to recall Jesus’ crucifixion. The traditional Armenian-style Cross is an ornate thing of beauty. It seems to be teeming with life because through his resurrection, Jesus transformed the Cross from a device that destroys life, to one that creates life. Armenian prayers and sharagans refer to the Cross as “the Tree of Life.” The Armenian Cross is in full bloom. The tips of its four arms are not blunt like wooden planks cut with a saw. Instead, each corner flares outward gracefully like a sprouting branch, capped with three buds on the verge of flowering. So the arms of the Cross have become branches, and they are inevitably inscribed with tightly but gracefully intertwined vines and shoots. No longer is the Cross a sign of death, but a herald of lush, abundant, eternal life with God for those who accept it. 6 The Treasury / 2017
Fragment of a 13th-century Khachkar outside the Catholicos’ residence in Holy Etchmiadzin
The Cross shows God with us Jesus’ Cross of death was formed by tying together two wooden beams. The Armenian Cross is one, integrated whole. In a typical Armenian-style Cross the horizontal beam and the vertical beam have become one, fused together seamlessly and permanently by a circle where they meet. The design expresses a fundamental principle of the Gospel. The One who died on the Cross to give us life is the Son of God. Sent by God the Father to heal this troubled world, the Son of God became human. Assuming a human body and the entirety of the human condition including death, the Son of God healed it by drawing us into his holiness. Jesus the Christ becomes the permanent bridge linking God and humanity. For those who surrender to Jesus Christ, there is no
longer any space between God and us. God is with us. The horizontal of this world has been seamlessly fused with the vertical of heaven. Or, as the Eucharistic Prayer of our Badarak puts it, “As a master-builder building a new work, Jesus Christ made this earth into heaven [նորագործ աստուածապէս ճարտարապետեալ՝ զերկիրս երկին արար]. It is no coincidence that the round disk at the center of the Cross looks very much like a nshkhar, the round loaf of unleavened bread that becomes our Holy Communion with Jesus Christ in the Badarak. The Cross is the sign of God’s Holy Communion with us, of heaven’s Holy Communion with Earth, and of our Holy Communion with one another.
Fragment of a lacework stonecross by sculptor Poghos; 1291 AD; 13th century; Goshavank, Armenia
stone. It is a most improbable art. A massive boulder is transformed into a fine, lace-like, embroidered cross of exquisite delicacy and beauty. Cold, lifeless stone erupts into bloom, seemingly pulsating with life. It is said that every khatchkar is actually formed from one continuous and never-ending line.
Modern khachkar in the cornerstone of St. Vartan Cathedral, visible to all at the corner of 2nd Avenue and 35th Street in New York
Carving Life Into Stone Without question the signature Armenian form of sacred art is the խաչքար/khatchkar. The word means “cross-stone.” Even though rocks are plentiful in Armenia, they are not exactly easy to sculpt into art. Basalt is one of the hardest, most unforgiving natural materials on Earth. It litters the Armenian landscape. And yet from ancient times until today, Christian Armenian artisans have fashioned dizzyingly intricate and elegant Crosses into unyielding
Here then, is the ultimate depiction of the mystery of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. The Armenians devise an improbable art to reveal an improbable reality: The Son of God is executed and yet rises to life, spreading divine, eternal life in his path. Against all logic, in Christ, life materializes from death. As Jesus said just before he raised his friend Lazarus from the tomb, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” [John 11:25]. Christian Armenians grasped this mystery and celebrated it, Ե՛ս եմ յարութիւն եւ erecting khatchkars by the կեանք. որ հաւատայ thousands throughout the Armenian countryside, no յիս, թէպէտ եւ մեռանի՝ two of them alike, as the true heralds of the Gospel կեցցէ՛. and as emblems of —Յովհ. ԺԱ.25 Armenia.
Very Rev. Fr. Michael Daniel Findikyan, PhD, is Director of the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center and Professor of Liturgical Studies at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary
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WORTHY OF MERCY Prayer for the Dead in the Armenian Church by Dn. Eric Vozzy
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rmenians are fascinated by death. Long before the Genocide, death pervaded Armenian history, art, literature, drama, and religion. By comparison with other traditions, scholars observe that Armenian Orthodox church services are inundated with prayers for the dead. In virtually every liturgical service of the Church, for example, we hear this prayer petition: “For the souls of the deceased who have fallen asleep in Christ with true and right faith, let us pray to the Lord.” This fascination contrasts sharply with our society, which denies death and goes to great lengths to keep it out of sight and mind. The funeral industry covers over the stark, painful reality of death with makeup, limousines, flowers, and parlors made to resemble the comfort of a real home. Many Christians have joined the trend today by transforming funerals into “celebrations of life.” But Armenian funerals confront the awfulness of death. Rather than heal our wounds, we seem to continually reopen them beyond the funeral services themselves. We are all familiar with the memorial service in the Armenian Church known as Hokehankeesd/Հոգեհանգիստ. Although it is appended to almost every Badarak on Sunday, it is a separate service. The Badarak itself is replete with its own prayers for the dead. Memorial prayers with a Grave Blessing are also offered on the fortieth day after one’s death and on subsequent 8 The Treasury / 2017
anniversaries. In addition, in more recent times, the Armenian Church has established its own general Memorial Day, not once, but five times per year on the day after each major feast ( Daghavar/Տաղաւար ). These Armenian Memorial Days are called Merelotz/Մեռելոց [“for the dead”]. Apart from all of this, there can be no doubt that those who light prayer candles in the church have their deceased loved ones in mind and heart. Why this obsession with death? Isn’t the Gospel about life? Jesus said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60). What is this seemingly morbid preoccupation with death and the practice of praying for the dead all about?
Praying for the Dead is Nothing New Many of the earliest Christian tombs contain prayers for the dead. The cold stone walls of the catacombs in Rome are covered with inscriptions such as, “May you live among the saints,” “May God refresh the soul of,” and “Peace be with them.” What are these if not supplications to God for the welfare of those whose earthly lives have ended? A certain Bishop Abercius, who was active in what is today southwestern Turkey shortly after the last books of the New Testament were being composed, has this carved into his tomb: “Let every friend who observes this pray for me.”
In the late first and early second century, Tertullian, the great pioneer in Western theology and Latin Christianity, was not only the first known writer in Latin to use the term “Trinity.” He also seems to be the first to mention praying for the dead as a Christian obligation. He writes, “The widow who does not pray for her dead husband has as good as divorced him.” We know of no Christian community from the time of Christ that did not pray for the dead. Prayerfully interceding with God for our departed loved ones is a cherished feature of every ancient Christian church, East and West, Catholic and Orthodox. The earliest surviving Eucharistic prayers—the central prayers of the Church—already include prayers for the dead alongside prayers for the living. In the Armenian Badarak, the deacons chant the familiar litany that begins with «Գոհութիւն» (Kohootyoon). The deacons intone: “Եւ խնդրեսցուք եւ վասն հոգւոցն հանգուցելոց։ Եւս առաւել վասն հանգուցեալ րաբունապետացն մերոց, եւ շինողաց սրբոյ եկեղեցւոյս, եւ որք ընդ հովանեաւ սորին են հանգուցեալ։” [Let us also
beseech the Lord for the souls of those who are at rest, and especially for our prelates who are at rest, and for the founders of this holy church, and for those who are laid to rest under her shadow.] While the deacons are chanting, the priest inaudibly offers the following prayer: “Be mindful, Lord, and have mercy and compassion on the souls of those who are at rest. Give them rest and enlighten them; reckon them among your saints in the kingdom of heaven and make them worthy of your mercy. Be mindful, Lord, also of the soul of your servant (name) and have mercy on him/her according to your great mercy and by your visitation give him/her rest in the light of your countenance… Be mindful, Lord, also of those who have commended themselves to us for remembrance in our prayers, of those who are living and of those who are at rest, and direct their will in their petitions as well as our will to what is right and abounding in salvation, and reward them all with your blessed bounties that pass not away.”
What Does the Bible Say? Some Christians reject the idea of praying for the dead because they can find no basis for it in Scripture. Most of those who dismiss the practice have been influenced by the simplistic belief that every detail of Christian activity must be authorized by a specific passage in the Bible. This newfangled fallacy, widespread among Evangelical Christians, views the Bible as a comprehensive encyclopedia of Christianity. But the Bible isn’t “a book.” It is a collection of writings from a variety of eras, authors, languages, genres, each one written with specific issues and objectives in mind. Moreover, the inspiration of the Bible is much more profound than these same critics suppose. The Holy Spirit of God “inspired” (II Timothy 3:16) the books of Sacred Scripture, but the Spirit did not edit them. That, He left to the Body of Christ, the Church, where baptized members (e.g. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and others) under God’s inspiration, authored, compiled, edited, transmitted, promulgated, preached, and prayed the Holy Scriptures. That is the same Apostolic Church, in its various Orthodox and Catholic communities, today that prays with great faith for the departed members of Christ’s body. Indeed, on a more careful reading, we find no conflict between the Bible and the practice of the Apostolic Church as regards praying for the dead. In the Old Testament, II Maccabees mentions praying for the dead as the expectation of a bodily resurrection (12:38-45).
“ For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead that they might be delivered from their sin.” II Maccabees 12:40-46
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Praying to God for the sake of our loved ones who have passed from this earthly life is one of the most natural instincts, not only as Christians, but simply as human beings. In the New Testament, St. Paul opens his second letter to his devoted disciple Timothy with a series of greetings to common friends that, at first, is no different than the salutations we find in most of his letters, but then he writes something curious. II Timothy 1:16-18 reads, May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me — may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day —and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. In all of the greetings of his other letters, Paul typically wishes grace and peace to those who are clearly still living. But here, St. Paul has no such blessing for Onesiphorus, a person for whom he obviously has great affection. Instead he only greets his household. The same is true when St. Paul again invokes his friend at the end of the letter (4:19), where he has not a single good wish for his friend’s health, wellbeing, or success. Paul consistently speaks of “the house of Onesiphorus” in the present tense and of Onesiphorus in the past tense. St. Paul’s concern for Onesiphorus is not for the present, but for blessings “on that day,” a future day that is obviously the Day of the Lord (1:12, 4:8). Onesiphorus is dead and St. Paul is praying for his salvation. Interestingly, what St. Paul prayed for Onesiphorus is remarkably similar to what the priest prays for the departed in the Armenian Hokehankeesd (Requiem) prayer: “Յիշեա յաւուր մեծի գալստեան արքայութեան քո։ Արա արժանի ողորմութեան…” [“Be mindful of them in the great day of
the coming of your kingdom. Make them worthy of mercy…”]. 10 The Treasury / 2017
The Magnitude of the Church Death is a mystery that lies beyond the reach of scientific inquiry. Christian theologians have offered various theories as to the state of the departed, but for the most part the Armenian Church leaves the question open. What happens beyond the grave belongs to the infinite wisdom of God. It is precisely that uncertainty that compels us to pray. The prayers of the Armenian Church assert that those who have been baptized and died, rest “in the shadow of the Church.” In other words, though they have died, the departed are not detached from the Church, the Body of Christ. Prayer for the dead is a proclamation of the eternal nature of baptism and its effects even after death. Ironically, we have been referring to prayer for “the dead,” but the word “dead” or “deceased” is never used in liturgical services, prayers, or hymns. Instead, the dead are referred to as being “asleep” or “at rest.” Why? Because death is not an end point for a baptized Christian, even a sinful baptized Christian. Through Christ, there is victory over death, rendering it futile or non-existent for the Christian. From the Old Testament Wisdom of Solomon we read, But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. (3:1-3) St. Paul admits that death is a reality, although a conquered one, when he writes, If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. (Romans 14:8-9) In either case, God is present to the entire Church, the one Body of Christ that extends beyond time and space – the Church militant (the living) and the Church triumphant (the dead). Jesus conquered and destroyed death, and so death does
not shatter the unity of Christ’s Body. The Holy Communion that God imparts extends beyond the grave. By praying for the dead, the Church confesses that reality. Love forms the mutual bond between us and God, and links members of the Church together, and nothing can separate us from that love, including death (Romans 8:38-39). If those who are departed do not cease to be members of the Church, then why would we cease praying for them? To dismiss praying for the departed is to ignore the magnitude of Christ’s Body. As Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan of blessed memory wrote in his commentary on the Armenian Badarak, “The souls of those who have died in Christ and the souls of the saints belong to the corporate body of Christ, i.e. the Church. Therefore they cannot be left out of any vital act of the Church.”
Forgiveness for the Dead? One of the primary requests of our requiem prayers is that God may forgive the sins of those who have died. The choir sings the refrain from the opening hymn, “Թողութիւն շնորհեա ննջեցելոց քոց ծառայից, յ ո ր ժ ա մ գ ա ս դ ա տ ե լ զո ր ա ն ա ր ա տ ձ ե ռ օ ք ստեղծեր։” [“Grant forgiveness to your servants who
have fallen asleep, when you come to judge those whom you created with spotless hands.”] The priest prays, “Հոգւոցն հանգուցելոց, Քրիստոս Աստուած, արա հանգիստ եւ ողորմութիւն…” [“Christ God, grant
rest and mercy to the souls of those who are at rest...”] How can forgiveness be granted to someone who is not even alive to commit a sinful act? Many people understand sin to be tantamount to crime, and forgiveness as God’s gift that frees us from punishment. But this is a gross reduction of a much more profound reality. Simply put, sin is not a legal problem, but an existential one. The third century Egyptian church father St. Athanasius, who shaped much of eastern theology, including that of the Armenian Church, describes sin as the absence of life or existence, and a movement toward non-being or death (Romans 6:23). Death is the antithesis of God, the source of life. In this sense, sin is broken communion with God and with one another, which
To forgo the beautiful practice of praying for the dead is to miss out on the fullness of the Christian faith. manifests itself in the broken things in our lives. In addition, salvation is not just about getting to heaven or avoiding hell. It’s about the restoration or healing of the entire created order, to liberate it from bondage and decay, i.e. death (Romans 8:21). It is to this created order that the departed still belong. Therefore, forgiveness is not the righting of a legal wrong or a broken rule, but the restoration of broken communion. God’s forgiveness liberates us from sinful corruption to be united with Him. So when we pray for God to grant mercy and forgiveness to the departed, we are asking for wholeness and healing, for restoration from the corruption of death to life in Christ (John 11:25). www.StVoski.org
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“As we ascend the spiral stairs of time, we rise again and again to a new perspective on the nature of where we were, just a few steps before. This process of ascending, seeing from a higher perspective and ascending again, repeats itself, the Armenian fathers believed, infinitely. Our perspective becomes more and more eternal, in other words, as we move through time.”
Don’t Put a Limit on Time The Church’s prayer is driven by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6), and therefore transcends human time. Our prayers are not bound by time as we experience it. As with any of our prayers, we pray with hope, as if God has already answered our prayers in eternity according to His will. Ultimately our prayer can affect the salvation of one whose life is already in the past from our perspective, though always by God’s grace. Modern physics of the last century has confirmed what Armenian theologians intuited and wrote about extensively more than 1000 years ago. Time is not a constant. It does not just rumble along like a train on its tracks moving from its starting point to its final destination. Time is a variable entity. It bends, stretches, and folds. Time and space are interconnected realities. So we cannot automatically apply our learned categories of space and time to prayer, or really anything when it comes to an eternal God interacting with His creation. Medieval Armenian theologians proceed from the conviction that time and eternity are spiral. Time is not static, but dynamic and perpetually unfolding, never a point of arrival, but forever a state of becoming. St. Nersess Armenian Seminary professor of Armenian Studies, Dr. Roberta Ervine, comments on the inexhaustibility of God in this life as well as in the hereafter when she writes, 12 The Treasury / 2017
It is in this light that Christian faith is lived out, including the practice of praying for the dead. Our image of time shapes and determines how we commune with God and with one another. When Jesus, who is God, was born with human flesh and blood, eternity broke into time and space, and heaven and earth were united. The Armenian Eucharistic Prayer reflects the very idea that as a result of the Incarnation, heaven and earth are no longer polar opposites, but are now folded into one another in a mysterious way. During every Badarak the priest prays, “And [he] was pleased to dwell among us in a ponderable nature… and as the divine master-builder building a new work, he thereby made this earth into heaven.” Heaven is not a future stop in the itinerary of a Christian’s life. In some mysterious way it is present now. So Uncle Hagop, whose biological life ended ten years ago and was delivered to the tomb, is in some real way vitally present in the Body of Christ. The other side of this equation is the startling reality, verifiable scientifically, that what is done is not necessarily done. We the Church, as the Body of Christ through the grace of God, dabble in eternity. We dance to a mysterious beat that glides beyond past and future. Our prayers for dear Uncle Hagop are not futile pleas to undo a fait accompli. They are powerful gestures in communion with the God who is the judge of the living and of the dead (II Timothy 4:1).
Prayer as Communion All of this has revolutionary consequences for Christian prayer. Consider Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane for hours, or his all-night prayer on the
mountain (Luke 6:12). Why would Jesus, the Son of God, need to appeal to His Father all night long? What insights or needs did the Son of God have which would require hours of continuous supplication? The Father knows all of our situations and desires before we even ask, so the point of prayer must be more than simply asking for stuff. Indeed, prayer is primarily about uniting ourselves with God. The reason Jesus prayed as much as He did was because His one desire was to be in communion with the Father. In the Gospel of John we hear Jesus pray, “That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” Prayer creates communion between God and us, and also between us and those for whom we pray, whether they are living or dead. So prayer for the dead is also prayer for the living. Like any sacrament of the Church, our petitions for departed loved ones are a celebration of the Church becoming ever more what it is meant to be – the Body of Christ, living in communion with each other and with God. They are an expression of worship, an opportunity to proclaim God’s mercy and love, and to recommit ourselves to our Creator, both individually, and communally as the Church. And like any of our prayers, prayers for the dead function as professions of our own faith. Every time we pray for the dead we are confessing yet again our faith in the risen Lord and His promise of eternal life. For Christians who truly cultivate faith in the Son of God as co-Creator and Savior, and genuinely seek loving communion with Him, it is instinctive to pray for the dead. This is why during every Hokehankeesd service the choir sings these powerful words from the beautiful hymn Քահանայք/Kahanayk: Ընդ ննջեցեալսն հաւատով ընկալ ըզմեզ նովին յուսով, յԵրուսաղէմ քաղաք վերին։ [With those who
have fallen asleep in faith, receive us who have the same hope, into the heavenly city, Jerusalem.] The priest echoes this in the requiem prayers: Հոգւոցն հանգուցելոց, Քրիստոս Աստուած, արա հանգիստ եւ ողորմութիւն, եւ մեզ մեղաւորացս
շնորհեա զթողութիւն յանցանաց: [Christ God,
grant rest and mercy to the souls of those who are at rest, and to us sinners, grant forgiveness of our transgressions.] As we pray for those who have passed from this life, we ask for our own forgiveness and salvation, our own communion with God. We share the same hope of those who are at rest. As we pray for those who died, we are reminded that this life is transient and that we too are going to die. However, as Christians, we see this as an opportunity to strengthen our faith in the face of death. This life is the time to practice repentance and to show others the love and mercy of Christ. Now is the time to conform to God’s image. As St. Paul wrote, “Today is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2).
An Expression of Love Perhaps the strongest justification of the Church’s Hokehankeesd prayers is St. Paul’s deceptively short declaration, “Love never ends” (I Cor. 13:8). The pain and grief that we experience at the death of someone we know are a direct reflection of our love for that person. The pain of bereavement does not evaporate once the casket is closed and the priest gives his final blessing. Our deepest affection for our loved ones at rest long outlives our memories of them. Love never ends, and the Church’s prayers for the dead are an expression of this love. So praying to God for the sake of our loved ones who have passed from this earthly life is one of the most natural instincts, not only as Christians, but simply as human beings. www.StVoski.org
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Since love never ends, our prayers never end. Our communion with the departed never ends, and our union with them through Christ never ends. The Church is a single family bonded in the love of Christ, and death does not sever that bond. The Church has always understood this, and therefore, she encourages us to express our love by praying for those who have fallen asleep in and through Jesus Christ. To reject this notion and to prohibit prayer for the dead, as many Protestant and Evangelical denominations do, is counter-intuitive and contrary to the Biblical faith of the ancient Christians. It is so harsh, in fact, that it is not only un-Christian, but inhuman. Worse yet, to forgo this beautiful practice is to miss out on the fullness of the Christian faith.
The Privilege of Praying for Those at Rest St. Ephrem, the incomparable fourth-century Syrian poet, theologian, and hymnographer, who is deeply loved by the Armenian Church, encapsulates the theology, spirituality, and sentiment behind our prayers for the dead in these rhapsodic lines attributed to him: Lay me not with sweet spices, for this honor avails me not, nor yet use incense and perfumes, for the honor benefits me not. Burn yet the incense in the holy place; as for me, escort me only with your prayers, give your incense to God, and over me send up hymns. Instead of perfumes and spices, be mindful of me in your intercessions. Ultimately, Jesus is the Judge, and by praying for the dead, we the Church push to the extreme our hope and faith in His boundless mercy for the living and for the dead. We express and exercise our faith in the power of Jesus Christ to raise the dead, and proclaim that in Christ there is no death! In every Badarak we sing the words, “You, the unchangeable One, became man and you were crucified, O Christ our God, and you trampled down death by death.” May those at rest be worthy of God’s mercy and receive eternal life. Dn. Eric Vozzy holds Masters Degrees in Philosophy and Diaconal Ministry. He works in the Department of Creative Ministries at the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. 14 The Treasury / 2017
Funeral Prayer Some of the most exquisite, graphic depictions of eternal life and God’s Kingdom are to be found precisely in the Church’s funeral prayers. The following is from the Funeral Service of the Armenian Church (Dan Gark / Տան Կարգ) prayed at the home of the deceased: “God of souls and creator of bodies, who abolished death and destroyed Satan, and granted life to the world, grant rest to the soul of this your servant (name) in a place of light and a place of rest, where there is no pain and no sadness, and no lamenting. And forgive any sins s/he may have committed either in word or in deed or in thought. O loving God, beneficent and merciful, forgive him/her. For what man is there who lives and does not sin? For you alone are sinless, and your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, that will not pass away, and your words are true. You are the life and the resurrection of all who have fallen asleep. And to you, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is due glory, dominion and honor, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Peace unto all. Almighty Lord, who, in your beneficence made this world, and created man from the dust, and placed him in this life and in your glory. You filled him with good gifts, and with your abundant mercy. But he, deceived by the evil one, was exiled from the garden and fell into the land of death, and inherited a life of curses. But you, merciful Lord, did not overlook him in the compassion of your care, but rather returned him from there, and gave him rest in the repose of your will. Therefore, we ask you, heavenly Father, for the sake of all those who are asleep, especially for this one, who is at rest: Receive his/her soul in peace, and give him/her rest among your saints. And giving thanks, we shall glorify you with the Son and with your Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.”
Translated by Very Rev. Fr. Michael Daniel Findikyan, PhD
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Words and The Way
ներել = nerel
by Rev. Fr. Ghevond Ajamian
hen I was in seminary, one of my professors, Dr. Abraham Terian, told us seminarians, “Christians are in the business of forgiving. That is their job.” This sounds simple in principle, yet difficult to put into practice. This is not a new teaching and in fact, Christ preached dozens of times about forgiveness. He could see the need to teach and preach forgiveness to the multitudes and to His disciples. We see this throughout the Gospels in multiple parables and in separate verses. Jesus said we are to forgive others “seventy times seven” in response to Peter’s question, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" (Matthew 18:21-22) It is clear that we are called to forgive. Unfortunately, many have the wrong understanding of forgiveness and, as a result, we withhold our forgiveness from others and refuse to forgive even once, let alone seventy times seven. Forgiveness is greatly misunderstood in our society. When we think of forgiveness, we automatically think that it means we approve or condone another’s actions against us. This is because of how we react to someone asking for forgiveness. When someone says, “I’m sorry,” what is our
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natural reaction? It is ok. Don’t worry about it. It is not a big deal. When we say these things, of course we are agreeing and condoning that person’s actions. Yet this is not what forgiveness is and we are wrong to answer this way. When God forgives us, He does not approve or condone what we have done. He does not say, “Oh it is ok that you committed that horrific sin.” Rather, He tells us to go and leave our life of sin (John 8:11). Forgiveness is not accepting, approving or condoning another’s actions against us, but something much more beautiful which we see in the Armenian word “to forgive”: ներել/nerel. The verb “to forgive” in Armenian is ներել/nerel and comes from the Armenian word ներս/ners, meaning “in/ within.” This means that when we forgive someone, we are actually bringing that person into a relationship with us again. We are allowing a restored relationship to take place. When we ask God for forgiveness, He forgives us with the understanding that we are entering into new relationship with Him. Likewise, when someone asks for forgiveness from us, that person is asking to be brought back into a relationship with us. This is the same formula Christ teaches us in the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses, as
we forgive those who trespass against us." We pray to our Heavenly Father that He welcome us back into a relationship with Him, which we severed through our sins. But He will only welcome us if we are also willing to welcome others back into relationships with us. We see this in probably the most famous parable about forgiveness: the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). When the father sees his son returning from a life of wantonness and he runs out with a robe, ring, and orders that the fatted calf be killed, the prodigal son asks for forgiveness. Never does the father say or even imply what his son has done is acceptable. Even the prodigal son’s older brother is erroneously under the impression that his father is condoning his brother’s actions. But the father’s response testifies to what forgiveness truly is: “It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:32) The father rejoices and forgives so that he and his prodigal son can enter into a new relationship. Jesus Christ’s answer to Peter to forgive seventy times seven means we must repeatedly allow relationships to be formed after an offence has taken place. If we do not forgive, then we are preventing relationships from forming. This includes friends, family members, co-workers, fellow parishioners and even enemies. Let us therefore forgive someone today. Let us allow a relationship, which may have suffered due to lack of forgiveness, to be repaired. Let us remember that through forgiving (ներել/ nerel), we do not condone sins, but heal broken ties so that we can enter back into (ներս/ners) a restored, renewed relationship.
When God forgives us, He does not approve or condone what we have done. Rev. Fr. Ghevond Ajamian is the pastor of St. Sarkis Armenian Orthodox Church in Dallas, Texas.
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St. Grigor of Datev (1346?-1409) Homily on the Cross by Roberta Ervine, PhD
Introduction The World in Grigor’s Time he world was a smaller place in Grigor Datevatsi’s day. In the mid-14th century, the New World had yet to be discovered. The cosmos was still believed to revolve around the earth; man stood secure at the pinnacle of creation, and his world was the center of the universe. Day to day life was not stable, however. Even before the European Age of Exploration began, Armenians were spreading out across this small world. As the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia slid downwards towards its demise in 1393, Armenians were coming into contact with other cultures, languages and religions at an unprecedented pace. There were new waves of Armenian immigration into Europe—Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, the Crimea, Russia. There was already an Armenian presence in Egypt and Ethiopia, across the Middle East, as well as in India, the Far East and Scandinavia. Not only was the world smaller, it was also less populous than it had been. When Grigor was a toddler, the Black Death removed between fifty and one hundred million people from the planet and definitively changed the future of Europe. The plague came at a time when divergent religious movements were expressing many Christian believers’ thirst for a direct experience of God that went beyond the Roman
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Catholic Church’s status quo. On the one hand, the dissident preaching of John Wycliffe, who translated the Bible into English for the first time, laid the groundwork for the Reformation. On the other hand, European mystics like Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, Meister Eckhart and Jan van Ruysbroeck pointed the way to a God who, although He might be expressed in traditional theological terms, went far beyond those terms in His overwhelming immanence. Three years after Grigor’s death, Joan of Arc would be born, issuing her own kind of challenge to the religious authorities of the time. Amid the ferment, a wave of Franciscan and Dominican missionaries spread across the Armenian homeland, offering high quality education to Armenians willing to heed the call of Rome’s pontiff, despite disarray within the Papacy itself. The activity of Roman Catholic missionaries amongst Armenian populations goaded Armenian clergy, including Hovhan and Grigor, to extraordinary heights of intellectual and spiritual attainment as they sought to remind Armenians that their own tradition was a rich and ancient source of complete spiritual and intellectual nourishment. The efforts and attainment of Grigor and others were all the more extraordinary because they took place in the midst of considerable political chaos. From the Mongol invasion in 1241 through the establishment of the Safavid Persian dynasty in 1502 (and beyond), Armenia’s traditional lands were in flux. Armenian princes and hierarchs alike navigated a world buffeted by the assaults of Tatars, Turks, Persians, Europeans and Georgians (to say nothing of
attacks mounted by a world-famous population of aggressive fleas, mentioned by writers of several nations). It was to the people of this mixed and beleaguered Armenian territory that Grigor preached, suiting his teaching and his methodology to their needs, limitations and spiritual capacities.
The Life of a Future Saint According to the Armenian Synaxarion, or Haysmawurk, Grigor of Datev was born as the result of his parents’ oath to dedicate him to God. Thus it is not surprising that before he was born, his mother had a dream. In her dream, she received a lamp from St. Grigor the Illuminator, who told her, “take this lamp and keep it, because the child that will be born from you will light this extinguished lamp with true faith.” There are numerous excellent studies of Grigor’s life and work, yet dates and facts concerning the future saint’s life are elusive, and the few that exist are subject to debate. One thing is clear, however: by far the most formative influence on his life was his relationship with his teacher, mentor, spiritual father and later colleague, Hovhan Orotnetsi. The two met in around 1358, when Grigor was a teen. At that point in time, Hovhan was a mature scholar. He had already taught at more than one institution, and had
founded a school at Datev. As a teacher, his reputation was growing — students later described him as a “thrice-blessed, thrice-great and thrice-wise universal light.” His relationship with Grigor would span twenty-eight fruitful years. It was Hovhan who made it possible for Grigor to truly fulfill his parents’ oath. In addition to being a wellconnected nobleman, Hovhan was a student of the great Armenian monastic school at Gladzor, whose curriculum included philosophy, rhetoric, logic, visual arts and natural sciences. Gladzor’s premise was that when seen through the lens of Scripture, all disciplines lead students to explore God’s relationship with humans and their world. It was Gladzor’s advanced curriculum, further enriched with his own writings, that Hovhan passed on to his disciples. Over and above the deep learning he imparted to Grigor, Hovhan was also mindful that St. Grigor the Illuminator had foretold a great mission for his protégé. In 1370, as Hovhan was nearing sixty, he took Grigor with him on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. En route, they stopped at the Illuminator’s tomb on Mt. Sebuh, staying long enough to honor St. Grigor by rebuilding the small church there. Shortly after they reached Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, 1373, Hovhan ordained Grigor to the celibate priesthood. When they returned home, Hovhan also bestowed on Grigor the rank of vartabed, giving him the right to teach and preach. Spiritual father and son became spiritual colleagues. Basing their teaching on the Gladzor program of studies Hovhan and Grigor, together with a group of dedicated colleagues and disciples ran an elite school underwritten by Grigor’s wealthy fellow disciple, Maghakia Ghrimetsi. The school was strategically located at St. Karapet monastery in Abrakunis, across the river from the Roman Catholic Armenian monastic school of Krna. The hostile relationship between the two schools reached a low point when Maghakia was assassinated by a Krna sympathizer in 1384. Hovhan died two years later in 1386. There was no question who would take his place as head of the school. Grigor was named Hovhan’s successor with the agreement of all his peers. He had earned his promotion; although he had long since been eligible to head his own institution, Grigor had refused to be anything more than Hovhan’s assistant for as long as his great mentor was alive. Now, it was his duty and his privilege to take Hovhan’s work to the next level of excellence. Grigor’s career continued to unfold in line with his mission, and his motivation to expand his mentor’s work. www.StVoski.org
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When the political situation made Abrakunis dangerous, Grigor chose to settle at Datev. In a way, returning to the school founded by Hovhan was a homecoming, and Grigor seems to have felt that revitalizing it was a sacred obligation. The Datev that he created was a golden moment in Armenian religious and educational history. Because of his long association with Hovhan, Grigor enjoyed the patronage of his late mentor’s brother, prince Smpad Orbelian, and the blessing of another relative who was the region’s bishop. Their support, and the cooperation of a cadre of dedicated teachers, made it possible for Grigor to carry out the mission he had been born to do. Students flocked to Datev’s lofty plateau, lured by a program that offered advanced training in music, art and the sciences, as well as philosophy and theology. Grigor wrote prolifically, if sporadically, throughout these years, producing biblical commentaries, study texts and practical texts for clergy and scribes. Based on his teaching experience, he compiled his famous Book of Questions, a voluminous compendium of responses to questions on everything from compendium of responses to questions on everything from 20 The Treasury / 2017
how earthquakes happen to why Jesus chose to be born a male. At the same time, Grigor’s devotion to teaching was absolute. As one of his contemporaries said, “He meditated deeply on the meaning of the Scriptures by night, and by day he imparted what he had gathered to his students.” Grigor’s productive tenure at Datev was violently interrupted in 1408. There was a year-long series of earthquakes. A new war broke out that scattered Grigor’s students to their home regions. Datev’s patron Prince Smpad died. Those powerful factors, combined with what Grigor called “an inspiration of the Holy Spirit” — caused him to leave his beloved monastery temporarily for a safer location. The community at the Monastery of the Mother of God at Metzop, north of Lake Van welcomed Grigor and his retinue to use their facility as a base for their teaching operations. Overjoyed to have Armenia’s greatest vardapet in their midst, scholars and teachers from the entire region made their way to Metzop to bask in Grigor’s presence and refresh themselves at the flowing stream of his erudition. It was a heady time for Metzop and its brotherhood, who reveled in the renaissance of learning suddenly taking place within their very walls. But it was also the final year of Grigor’s life. Perhaps feeling that his time was drawing to an end, he threw himself into his writing, producing in his last months two volumes of teaching notes to philosophical texts as well as commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John, and a collection of thoughts on the Book of Job. In these closing days of his life, Grigor also devoted special energy to the training of scholar scribes; he envisioned Metzop as a vital center for reconstruction of the intellectual and spiritual Armenian heritage destroyed when the recent invasions of Tamerlane decimated Armenia’s precious manuscript collections. Grigor produced two annotated manuals for scribes, explaining the rationale for their art, and its crucial importance in the preservation of thought and language. In short, it was a year of prodigious achievement. But Grigor’s true home was in Datev. We are told that when he decided to return to Datev he left Metzop by night, knowing that the brotherhood there would find his departure distressing. They did indeed. Says one of the brothers, “We caught up with him in the Province of Ayrarat, but even with weeping and heart-rending tears we were not able to persuade him to return.” Instead, Grigor sent them out with his blessing, handing over to them the responsibility for carrying on his educational work in their own region.
Grigor’s death took place at the end of December, 1409. His remains were buried in Datev where, as one of his students said, “he had illuminated the Church, shining like the noonday sun amid the dark night of our times.” St. Grigor the Illuminator had indeed designated a worthy successor. The Armenian Church celebrates St. Grigor of Datev’s life and work on March 10; he was the last saint officially added to the Church’s festal calendar.
St. Grigor’s Homilies The year before Grigor left Datev for Metzop, colleagues and disciples asked him to gather his homilies into one convenient collection. The resulting collection filled two large volumes. Organized person that he was, Grigor arranged the homilies in his compendium according to the Church calendar. The first volume (The Winter Volume) comprised homilies for the season from New Year through Pentecost, while the second (The Summer Volume) was devoted to the feasts of the saints, the Church, the Mother of God and the Cross.
These two volumes were and remain a resource for preachers. But Grigor’s primary intention went deeper than simply helping homilists prepare uplifting sermons for their congregations. In his introductory words to each volume, Grigor said that his homily collection had a dual aim; the first volume was intended to lay out the Church’s teaching on Christ’s nature, life and death. The second volume was intended on the one hand to induce unbelievers to emend their life and on the other hand, to inspire the saints to increase their holiness. Grigor’s ultimate hope was that his words would “cause them all to inherit the good things prepared by God from the beginning [Matt 5:34]”. Because it aims at inspiring life change and spiritual growth in all people, the second volume also contains homilies addressed to various social classes, as well as writings on desirable and undesirable moral qualities. It even includes a homily on the symandron and bells used to call the faithful to worship, because those humble objects, too, are instruments of the sanctified life. The homily translated here is the last of three homilies on the Cross that are to be found near the end of The Summer Volume.
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St. Gregory of Datev
Third Homily on the Holy Cross (The Summer Volume, Homily 138)
he Apostle Paul — that loud and effective trumpet of God’s word; the man who went up to the third heaven and saw things unattainable and reported things indescribable; the steward of the deep, divine meanings (1 Cor 4:1) and faithful overseer (Lk 12:42), Christ’s chosen vessel (Acts 9:15), true preacher (1 Tim 2:7) — calls out in the midst of the Church,
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So preaching the Cross is foolishness to those who are lost, yet for those of us who are redeemed, it is the power of God. (1 Cor 1:18) In other words, Christ’s suffering and death on the Cross seems like foolishness to unbelievers, whereas for us who believe, who have been redeemed by the sufferings of the Cross, it is the wisdom of God and the power of God (1 Cor 1:24). To a sick person, healthy food is repulsive and harmful. Talk of the Cross is like that to people who persist in unbelief. And just like a delirious patient insults and rejects his physician, so do they reject the Cross. They say, “If [Christ] was powerful, why did he let himself suffer, die and be buried? Obviously, he was not powerful! So how can he grant to you what he himself did not possess?” Pagans say these kind of things. Jews, like the condemned thief crucified with Jesus, said something similar: If he is the son of God, he will come down from the cross and we will believe him! (Matt 27:39-44, Lk 23:39) 22 The Treasury / 2017
To all of them our response is the following. Is it not true that the person who survives a difficult circumstance like a flooding river or a turbulent ocean and comes out of it, is demonstrably stronger than someone who has endured no such thing? A hero is made in battle; no one wins a victory from the sidelines! People marveled when the three youths were not burned in the fiery furnace; if they had not been in the flames, no one would have found them remarkable. Jonah became famous as the man who went into the belly of the whale and emerged whole; if he had never left the boat, that would not have been the case. In the same way, our Lord and Savior’s victory was all the greater because even though he was fixed to the Cross he released those in bondage (Is 42:7); he died and yet he raised the dead. By dying, he did away with death. Descending into the grave, he raised us up to heaven. By every detail of his sufferings — his sweat, the thorns, the spittle, the immobilizing of his hands and feet, tasting the gall and bowing his head, the opening of his side and every other detail, healed some specific symptom of the disease of the first-created humans.
The Cross is a mighty paradox One might call the Cross weak, but see how it has universally created greatness through its paradox, just like God first created the world using opposite elements. He reined in the sea by using insignificant grains of sand; he supported the heavy earth on the light fluidity of water. Long after creation, He continued to employ opposites in the same way. Using mere dust, He gave light to the eyes of the blind man. By means of Paul’s flimsy handkerchief He cured everyone’s diseases (Acts 19:12). The shadow of the Apostle Peter was enough to heal the sick (Acts 5:15), while the Apostle’s garments raised the dead. These things took place so you would recognize that the strength of God works through weakness (2 Cor 12:10). It is the same way with the Cross, which for us who are saved is the power of God. The cross is a paradoxical symbol. After all, it was said that Christ was born for both the rise and the fall of many (Lk 2:34). The paradox of the Cross is to be seen in four areas: its power, its action, its appearance, and its shape. The Cross’s power is one and the same, yet for those who believe it brings rising and justification, while for those who do not believe, it causes downfall and stumbling. Its action produced salvation for the human race, but destruction for the ranks of demons, as it stripped away principalities and powers (Col 2:15). In appearance, the Cross was an instrument of suffering and death, yet life and immortality were concealed within it: was it not necessary for Christ to suffer and thus enter into His glory? (Lk 24:26) Because of this, if anyone shares in his sufferings, that person will also share in His glory (Rom 8:17). The Cross’s shape has four arms stretching out in opposite directions: the foot of the Cross harrowed hell while its head opened the door of Paradise; the right arm distributed grace to the human race, while the left handed out threats and punishments to demons.
Why did God choose to become human? Concerning the salvation of humanity through Christ’s Cross, the Apostle elsewhere writes, What was impossible for the Law, since it was weak because of the flesh, God sent His son, in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin; and in His flesh did He sentence sin (Rom 8:3). What does this mean? Biblical scholars [vartabeds] give the following explanation for God’s incarnation: Satan was in the habit of accusing humans to God. He said, “I do not deceive www.StVoski.org
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human beings; they sin by nature, and by their own free will.” In saying this, satan first of all made God responsible for sin — after all, God was the Creator of human nature. And secondly, he made humans responsible for their own sin — they sin not only by nature, but also of their own volition.
God the Father sent His only begotten Son, who took flesh
doing he taught us not to fear death, for after it comes resurrection. Fourth, through the Cross He indicted satan, saying “It is you who are the cause of human sin and death! You even had Me crucified, when I was completely sinless and owed you nothing.” By His crucifixion He laid an ambush for satan, convicted him of sin before the Father, justified human beings and enrolled us in life. This is what the Apostle meant when he said, He condemned sin in His flesh.
and soul and became human through the virgin Mary. In
In what sense did Christ “condemn sin?” In many ways.
His flesh, he endured all the passions of the flesh, without
First, he condemned sin by not committing sin himself.
At the time, there was no human being without sin who could prove that satan was lying about both these things. So
sin; and in his soul, He endured all the passions of the soul,
There was no deceit in his mouth (Is 53:9/1 Pt 2:22).
also without sin. Having maintained our nature without sin, he not only saved humanity from sin, but he also became our defender with God. Christ’s sinless life demonstrates that neither is human nature sinful, nor do humans sin simply of their own free will. God created human nature sinless. Instead satan, who deceives humans, is the cause of sin. By His incarnation, Christ exonerated humanity and condemned our enemy.
Second, he condemned sin by undoing the punishment for our forefather’s sin in all its details. By His bloody sweat (Lk 22:44), He undid the sweat of Adam’s face (Gen 3:19). His crown of thorns (Matt 27:23:9 / Mk 15:17 / John 19:2) undid the thorns and thistles brought forth by the earth after it was cursed (Gen 3:18), and so on. By enduring all these things, he melted away Adam’s punishment like fire melts wax. Third, by condemning sin he condemned satan, who loves sin. As the Evangelist John says, After this, the prince of this world is condemned (John 16:11). Christ publicly humiliated him! Fourth, Christ condemned sin by harrowing hell, sin’s “house.” In His own words, He first bound the strong man and then plundered his house (Matt 12:29 / Mk 3:27) so that no more humans would go there until after the general resurrection. Fifth, He condemned sin, that is death, by His resurrection in the flesh: He became the first fruit of those who sleep (1 Cor 15:20) and the firstborn of the dead (Col 1:18), in Paul’s words. So now, where, O death, is your victory? Where, O hell, is your sting? (1 Cor 15:55) Christ removed our inevitable death through His wondrous resurrection, on two levels. First, he gave us the
What did Christ’s suffering achieve? After He demonstrated that our nature is sinless, Christ came to the sufferings of the Cross. Through the Cross He achieved four things for us: First, He offered His sinless body as a willing sacrifice for God the Father to be reconciled with humanity (2 Cor 5:18-19, Eph 2:16, Col 1:22). Second, we owed a debt to sin and the curse, because we had indeed sinned. He, who owed nothing, took on death and the curse in our place, and freed us from our debts. Third, for as long as humans had no hope of resurrection, they feared death and blamed the command of God for sentencing them to death. Christ came and died the death set for humans. He died — and He rose. In so 24 The Treasury / 2017
resurrection of the soul, and then He gave us the resurrection of the body as well. We experience the power of bodily resurrection within ourselves even now, whenever we rise from sleep, and we experience it by hope in the general resurrection, when we
shall be like Christ’s glorified body (Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:2). The resurrection of the soul we actively undergo now: You who were once dead in your sin and transgression… God has made alive in Christ, says Paul (Eph 2:1, 5).
What, then, does redemption mean? Biblical scholars [vartabeds] tell us that Christ accomplished six main kinds of redemption: First, He redeemed us from sin and earned the title, Redeemer. As the angel announced to Mary, He shall redeem His people (Matt 1:21).
Second, He redeemed us from servitude to the Law and to the curse. In the fullness of time, God sent His son…who entered under the Law in order to buy back those who were under the Law (Gal 4:4-5). Christ bought us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us (Gal 3:13). Third, He redeemed us from harsh enslavement to satan. He redeemed us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His Son (Col 1:13). Fourth, He redeemed us from death by becoming Himself the first fruit of those who sleep (1 Cor 15:20) and the firstborn of the dead (Col 1:18). Now we look to the Savior, who will restore the body of our humility after the likeness of His own body of glory (Phil 3:21)! Fifth, He redeemed the souls that were in the prison of hell. As the Apostle says, He went up on high and took captivity captive (Eph 4:8). He plundered hell by first binding the strong man and then plundering his house (Matt 12:29 / Mk 3:27). Sixth, He redeemed us from idolatrous and erroneous service to devils and brought us to serve God in faith. As He said after the resurrection, Go and make disciples of all the heathen. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). In these ways did the Cross of Christ become for us power and redemption. As the Apostle said, So preaching the Cross is foolishness to those who are lost, yet for those of us who are redeemed, it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18). www.StVoski.org
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What does the Cross mean? Now let us see what the word Cross means. The Cross signifies physical suffering. As He said, Whoever does not accept his cross and follow me is not worthy of me (Matt 10:38 / Lk 14:27). The Cross is also a symbol of death. As Paul said, The world is crucified to me and I to the world (Gal 6:14). The Cross is also called a four-armed instrument of condemnation, a sign of an ignoble and disgraceful death. As Paul said, He endured unto death, even the death of a cross (Phil 2:8). There are many explanations for why the fathers stress that the Cross has four arms. One is because its 26 The Treasury / 2017
redemption extends to the four corners of the universe. Too, it purifies the four cardinal virtues of the soul–prudence, temperance, courage and justice — and it cleanses sin from the four elements of the body. Ezekiel’s vision was of a throne supported by four living creatures, with the Son of Man seated on the throne (Ezek 1:1-26). His vision was a foreshadowing of the four-armed cross with Christ upon it. The four arms of the Cross reflect the fact that there are four kinds of Law: natural law, which was given to Adam; rational law, which was given to Abraham; written Law, which was given to Moses; and the Law of the Gospel, which was given through the Cross itself. The four arms also remind us that there is a different type of godly fear appropriate to each of the four eras of our life: childhood, youth, maturity and old age.
Preaching the Cross is foolishness to those who are lost, yet for those of us who are redeemed, it is the power of God. Why do we revere the Cross alone? Why is only the Cross itself revered? Was Christ not fastened to it with nails, and a crown of thorns placed on his head? Yet we do not show reverence to the nails, or to the thorns. We revere only the Cross, because it bears the imprint of Christ’s body, when he stretched out his arms upon it. In fact, He is on the cross at all times, and he will be ever so. The Cross, which was at first an instrument of condemnation, is now the cause of redemption because when he was nailed to it, our Lord became one with it. The Cross is heaven’s axis and earth’s foundation The Cross was desired by the patriarchs and previsioned by the prophets The Cross was preached by the Apostles and confessed by the patriarchs
The Cross is the victory wreath of martyrs, and the trophy of those who die for their faith It is the crown of kings and the insignia of princes It sanctifies celibates and gives prudence to the wedded It graces men and beautifies women It is a supportive cane to the aged, and a staff of instruction to the young It is the tree of life, and the fruit of immortality It exhorts the innocent and grants forgiveness to sinners It is a pathway for the lost and a ray of light for those in darkness It is a harbor for those at sea and an inn for those on the road It is joy for those in heaven and rejoicing for those on earth The underworld is in awe of it, and it rebukes the spirits of the air It is Christ’s glory, and the glorification of Christians It is a spiritual weapon, and a sword that never loses its edge It destroys hell and liberates those in bondage It is the culmination of grace, and it is resurrection to life It opens heaven, and it makes us heirs of the kingdom It is the forerunner of Christ’s coming, and the harbinger of the resurrection It is blindness to those who do not believe, but for those who believe, its power makes its worshipers shine and sets them at the right hand of Christ our God. To Him be glory forever, amen. Roberta Ervine, PhD, is Professor of Armenian Christian Studies at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary.
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Աղօթք Խաչի Սրբոյ Խաչն` բեւեռք երկնի և հաստատութիւն երկրի: Խաչն`նահապետացն ցանկութիւն. և մարգարէիցն նախաձայնութիւն: Խաչն` առաքելոցն քարոզութիւն. և հայրապետացն դաւանութիւն: Խաչն` մարտիրոսացն պսակ. և նահատակացն յաղթանակ: Խաչն` թագ թագաւորաց. և իշխանութիւն
իշխանաց:
ողջախոհութիւն
Խաչն`
ամուսնացելոց:
կուսանաց Խաչն`
սրբութիւն.
շնորհք
արանց.
և և
բարեզարդութիւն կանանց: Խաչն` ծերոց ցուպ հաստատութեան. և տղայոց գաւազան իմաստութեան: Խաչն` փայտ կենաց. և պտուղ անմահութեան: Խաչն` խրատ անմեղաց. և քաւիչ մեղաւորաց: Խաչն` ճանապարհ
մոլորելոց.
և
ճառագայթ
նաւելոց.
և
օթեւան
երկնաւորաց.
և
զուարթութիւն
նաւահանգիստ ցնծութիւն
խաւարելոց:
ճանապարհորդելոց: երկրաւորաց:
Խաչն` Խաչն` Խաչն`
երկիւղ սանդարամետականաց. և սաստ օդականաց: Խաչն` փառք Քրիստոսի. և պարծանք քրիստոնէից: Խաչն` զէն հոգեւոր. և սուսեր անբթելի: Խաչն` աւերիչ դժոխոց. և գերիչ գերելոց: Խաչն` կնիք գերեզմանաց. և յարութիւն կենաց: Խաչն` դրախտին բացօղ. և զարքայութիւն ժառանգեցուցանօղ: Խաչն` կարապետ Քրիստոսի. և հրաւէր
յարութեան:
Խաչն`կուրութիւն
անհաւատից.
իսկ
հաւատացելոց զօրութիւն: Որ եւ պայծառացուցեալ զերկրպագուս իւր ընդաջմէ
կացուսցէ
Քրիստսոսի
Աստուծոյ
մերոյ.
և
նմա
փառք
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