Karekin II congratulates Armenians on Independence Day
His Holiness Karekin II, Surpreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, has issued a message congratulating Armenian people on Independence Day.
"Dear and pious faithful in Armenia and the Diaspora,
Today in this holy sanctuary, filled with the festive joy of the 20th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia, we offered the blessing service for the republic with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsian, President of Artsakh Bako Sahakian, Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia, senior Armenian government officials, reverend clergy, representatives of diplomatic missions and all of you. Together we offered our prayers to heaven for the strength, stability, peace and prosperity of our native state.
The reestablishment of independent statehood is the greatest accomplishment in our national life, which has given us new hopes and has opened new horizons before us. Today our souls are filled with gratitude to God, and emotions of pride and joy. Yes, we are joyful, because many generations have dreamed of this blessed day of reestablished Armenian statehood. Many distinguished sons and daughters of our nation have invested effort and devotion, and many have given their lives for this day. We are joyful. We are joyful as well for our grandfathers and fathers, who kept the love and aspiration for independent Armenian statehood alight and transmitted it from generation to generation. We are joyful with the conviction that under the flag of Armenian statehood, our people will transform our homeland into a country of paradise through heavenly blessings, which shall always be the pillar and bulwark of Armenian life dispersed throughout the world, the root and source of our identity, and the power of attraction and axis of our national regrouping around Ararat.
The journey of reestablishing our independent statehood was long and difficult. Having been denied native statehood for centuries, our people have suffered persecution, witnessed destruction and plunder, been subjected to genocide, stripped of patrimony and dispersed throughout the world. On a small portion of our homeland which became part of the Soviet Union, our people found deliverance - the safety to build their lives and develop their culture; however they also lived the pain of shuttered and demolished churches, forgot their prayers and hymns, did not live free and bore the pains of violence and exile. In order to overcome these trials, our people implemented extraordinary efforts and force, protected hope and optimism with God as their refuge, Who instructs us, ‘Be faithful..., and I will give you the crown of life.'
The reestablishment of the free and independent life of our native state had always been a priority for our people since the loss of statehood; the unconditional love of which gave birth to the victories of the liberation of Artsakh and the independence of Armenia. The lawful decision of the Armenians of Artsakh to reunite with Armenia, as an expected spark, reawakened the hopes among our people of reestablishing justice, and which we were compelled to defend with arms. Nothing was able to dispirit our people. We withstood all of the difficulties and privations of imposed war, blockade and economic ruin, concurrent to which the institutions of our newly founded state were strengthened, economic and social life were restructured, and the greatest efforts were implemented to reinforce our country's security and peace. Our people were empowered in this struggle and the challenging process of nation-building; their will and experience to take on responsibility was refined - to bear the pain of loss with courage and dignity. Yes, the victories and accomplishments were not easily granted; we experienced internal jolts. Today as well, our difficulties are not few; the concerns of economic, political and social life are not inconsiderable, yet our people are facing with a sense of responsibility toward their native state, with the same spirit of great devotion, faith and optimism.
Dear ones, we are standing before the greatest imperatives facing our people - to make the peace of our land a stable one, to guide to victory our just cause for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the right of Artsakh to live free. We have entered a new century with the faith to turn these national aspirations into reality, the foundation of which is our native independent statehood. A free and independent homeland has brought great changes and shifts to our national life; it has united and made viable the power of our people, and their efforts and abilities. In the conditions of independent statehood, pan-national projects are being brought to life and implemented. Our sons and daughters in the Diaspora, strengthened by the homeland, are greater participants in the building and strengthening of our country. Through the efforts of our authorities and all our people, our country is securing its place and reputation in the international arena; participating in the efforts of states and nations aimed at establishing peace and prosperity throughout the world. Our country's borders are peaceful and defended by the courageous and noble service of the victorious and mighty Armed Forces of Armenia. The "generation of independence" are becoming adults, having been nurtured and raised by those values and faith that gave birth to Armenian statehood, which shall grant new victories to our native land and to all Armenians. Indeed, gathered in unity around the homeland, the bright outlook of our future is real.
Our dear sons and daughters, let us continue to live and work, remaining faithful to the God of our fathers, to ourselves, to our heroic spirit and our vision. The sun has risen over our native statehood. That which history has often denied us - peace, justice, respected rights, joy of life - will all blossom in our soil. Let us be heartened with courage, love, unanimity and optimism. Let us build a providential country - one that is vibrant and progressive, illuminated with faith, where care and respect for each individual are bountiful. Let us build a country that is pleasing to God, humane, philanthropic and charitable; as a Christian people, as people who have created an ancient state and culture, whose history has progressed in the struggle for liberty and the reestablishment of independent statehood. Let us strengthen our homeland - the indigenous land of the Armenians - so that it is the fountainhead and buttress of our nation's collectiveness, national thinking and spiritual inner-strength, and the manifestation of our national aspirations. May this vision, these goals and aspirations, guide us and direct our steps, so that we today and our children tomorrow may be able to protect our native land, keep Armenian life filled with awakening and strengthen the prayer of the Armenian, so that God grants us new crowns of triumph, according to His promise of ‘be faithful..., and I will give you the crown of life'.
Dear beloved Armenians, on the occasion of the glorious celebration of Independence Day and with a joyful heart, we congratulate you all throughout the world, Armenian government officials, and the president of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsian, and offer the blessings of our Apostolic Holy Church and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Throughout her entire history, the Armenian Church, loyal to her calling, has supported Armenian statehood, and with all of her ability is supportive as well today and always, for the sake of the glory and continuity of the Armenians.
Let us pray dear ones, and offer our humble respects to the eternal memory of those heroes who gave their lives for the homeland, and appeal for God to protect our land in peace under His Holy Right Hand, and keep unshaken our native statehood, valiant spirit and victorious will of the Armenian Armed Forces. May He bless our people, clergymen and authorities, and lead them to lush, bountiful shores and mornings of realizing our hopes, today and always. Amen."
