Message
of Pope Francis to Armenians
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered a Message to all
Armenians on Sunday, presenting the President of Armenia, Serž Azati
Sargsyan, Catholicos Karekin II, Catholicos Aram I, and Patriarch Nerses
Bedros XIX, with copies at the end of Mass marking the centenary of the Medz Yeghern in which more
than 1 million Armenians under Ottoman rule were driven from their homes,
dispossessed and killed. Below, please find the full text of the Message in its
official English translation.
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Dear Armenian Brothers
and Sisters,
A century has passed since that horrific massacre which was a true
martyrdom of your people, in which many innocent people died as confessors and
martyrs for the name of Christ (cf. John Paul II and Karekin II, Common Declaration, Etchmiadzin, 27 September 2001). Even
today, there is not an Armenian family untouched by the loss of loved ones due
to that tragedy: it truly was “Metz Yeghern”,
the “Great Evil”, as it is known by Armenians. On this anniversary, I
feel a great closeness to your people and I wish to unite myself spiritually to
the prayers which rise up from your hearts, your families and your communities.
Today is a propitious occasion for us to pray together, as we
proclaim Saint Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church. I wish to express
my deep gratitude for the presence here today of His Holiness Karekin II,
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, and His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX,
Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics.
Saint Gregory of Narek, a monk of the tenth century, knew how to
express the sentiments of your people more than anyone. He gave voice to
the cry, which became a prayer, of a sinful and sorrowful humanity, oppressed
by the anguish of its powerlessness, but illuminated by the splendour of God’s
love and open to the hope of his salvific intervention, which is capable of
transforming all things. “Through his strength I wait with certain
expectation believing with unwavering hope that… I shall be saved by the Lord’s
mighty hand and… that I will see the Lord himself in his mercy and compassion
and receive the legacy of heaven” (Saint Gregory of Narek, Book of Lamentations, XII).
Your Christian
identity is indeed ancient, dating from the year 301, when Saint Gregory the
Illuminator guided Armenia to conversion and baptism. You were the first
among nations in the course of the centuries to embrace the Gospel of
Christ. That spiritual event indelibly marked the Armenian people, as
well as its culture and history, in which martyrdom holds a preeminent place,
as attested to symbolically by the sacrificial witness of Saint Vardan and his
companions in the fifth century.
Your people, illuminated by Christ’s light and by his grace, have
overcome many trials and sufferings, animated by the hope which comes from the
Cross (cf. Rom 8:31-39).
As Saint John Paul II said to you, “Your history of suffering and martyrdom is
a precious pearl, of which the universal Church is proud. Faith in
Christ, man’s Redeemer, infused you with an admirable courage on your path, so
often like that of the Cross, on which you have advanced with determination,
intent on preserving your identity as a people and as believers” (Homily,
21 November 1987).
This faith also accompanied and sustained your people during the
tragic experience one hundred years ago “in what is generally referred to as
the first genocide of the twentieth century” (John Paul II and Karekin II, Common Declaration, Etchmiadzin, 27 September 2001). Pope
Benedict XV, who condemned the First World War as a “senseless slaughter” (AAS,
IX [1917], 429), did everything in his power until the very end to stop it,
continuing the efforts at mediation already begun by Pope Leo XIII when
confronted with the “deadly events” of 1894-96. For this reason, Pope
Benedict XV wrote to Sultan Mehmed V, pleading that the many innocents be saved
(cf. Letter of
10 September 1915) and, in the Secret Consistory of 6 December 1915, he
declared with great dismay, “Miserrima Armenorum gens ad interitum prope ducitur” (AAS,
VII [1915], 510).
It is the responsibility not only of the Armenian people and the
universal Church to recall all that has taken place, but of the entire human
family, so that the warnings from this tragedy will protect us from falling
into a similar horror, which offends against God and human dignity. Today
too, in fact, these conflicts at times degenerate into unjustifiable violence,
stirred up by exploiting ethnic and religious differences. All who are
Heads of State and of International Organizations are called to oppose such
crimes with a firm sense of duty, without ceding to ambiguity or compromise.
May this sorrowful anniversary become for all an occasion of
humble and sincere reflection, and may every heart be open to forgiveness,
which is the source of peace and renewed hope. Saint Gregory of Narek, an
extraordinary interpreter of the human soul, offers words which are prophetic
for us: “I willingly blame myself with myriad accounts of all the incurable
sins, from our first forefather through the end of his generations in all
eternity, I charge myself with all these voluntarily” (Book of Lamentations, LXXII). How striking is his sense of
universal solidarity! How small we feel before the greatness of his
invocations: “Remember, [Lord,]… those of the human race who are our enemies as
well, and for their benefit accord them pardon and mercy… Do not destroy those
who persecute me, but reform them, root out the vile ways of this world, and
plant the good in me and them” (ibid.,
LXXXIII).
May God grant that the people of Armenia and Turkey take up again
the path of reconciliation, and may peace also spring forth in Nagorno
Karabakh. Despite conflicts and tensions, Armenians and Turks have lived
long periods of peaceful coexistence in the past and, even in the midst of violence,
they have experienced times of solidarity and mutual help. Only in this
way will new generations open themselves to a better future and will the
sacrifice of so many become seeds of justice and peace.
For us Christians, may
this be above all a time of deep prayer. Through the redemptive
power of Christ’s sacrifice, may the blood which has been shed bring about the
miracle of the full unity of his disciples. In particular, may it
strengthen the bonds of fraternal friendship which already unite the Catholic
Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. The witness of many defenceless
brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives for the faith unites the
diverse confessions: it is the ecumenism of blood, which led Saint John
Paul II to celebrate all the martyrs of the twentieth century together during
the Jubilee of 2000. Our celebration today also is situated in this
spiritual and ecclesial context. Representatives of our two Churches are
participating in this event to which many of our faithful throughout the world
are united spiritually, in a sign which reflects on earth the perfect communion
that exists between the blessed souls in heaven. With brotherly
affection, I assure you of my closeness on the occasion of the canonization ceremony
of the martyrs of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to be held this coming 23
April in the Cathedral of Etchmiadzin, and on the occasion of the
commemorations to be held in Antelias in July.
I entrust these intentions to the Mother of God, in the words of
Saint Gregory of Narek:
“O Most Pure of Virgins, first among the blessed,
Mother of the unshakeable edifice of the Church,
Mother of the immaculate Word of God,
(…)
Taking refuge beneath your boundless wings which grant us the
protection of your intercession, we lift up our hands to you,
and with unquestioned
hope we believe that we are saved”.
(Panegyric
of the Theotokos)
From the Vatican, 12
April 2015
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