PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
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Contact: Iris Papazian
March 21, 2007
Easter Message
His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate
Armenian Apostolic Church of America (Eastern Prelacy)
MY LORD AND MY GOD
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the
mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25)
Thomas was the only apostle who had not seen Jesus after His Resurrection,
and this is how he answered the other apostles, who had announced the Lord’s
Resurrection to him. Like the other disciples, Thomas had lived with Jesus,
enjoyed His divine presence, especially the performance of the many
miracles, and listened to His teaching and foretelling of His suffering,
crucifixion, and Resurrection (Matthew 16:21, 17:23, 20:19), but still he
did not believe in the Resurrection. He wanted to see with his eyes and feel
with his hands in order to make tangible the inexplicably recognized feeling
of "faith," instead of coming to the real essence and reality of faith, and
to comprehend the incomprehensible and invisible through the logic and
illumination of the spirit.
And when he saw the Lord, and saw His wounds, he cried out,
"My Lord and My God."
Thomas thought that he had faith in Christ. A faith away from doubt, a total
faith. And when the time came to bring the faith to the light, to tell the
truth and proclaim it, the human mind and experience put him into temptation
and wanted, through present explanation, to become "scientific."
But faith, whether in our personal understanding and feeling or as abstract
reasoning, is much greater than the scientific approach and evidence. Faith
is our perfect assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is not a kind of chemistry investigated through
scientific foundations and hypotheses, but a supernatural virtue, higher and
deeper than worldly and secular reasoning. This is a grace that nourishes us
so that we become enriched and strengthened, a talent that "to all those who
have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they
have will be taken away." (Luke 19:26).
Like Thomas, I am sure, today there are many people who profess
Christianity. We think that we have faith, in the true sense of the word, a
faith that keeps our soul firm, illuminates our mind, and makes our
relationship with God close and intimate. On the other hand, we are
surrounded by temptations. Through the intervention and activity of evil we
turn away and depart from the way opened up for us by Christ, and by
doubting and questioning we fall into the snares that darken the brilliance
and splendor of the soul.
The Resurrection of Christ is the foundation of Christian faith. "If Christ
has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith
has been in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:14). In this powerful form, the
proclaimed words gave life to all who believed in Christ and in their faith
died with Christ in order to rise with Him. As a people, we have not needed
in our faith to be like the Apostle Thomas. On the contrary, without seeing
Christ, we have had faith in Him and worshipped Him as our Lord and God, as
the source of life and the way to eternal life.
"Unless I see the wounds of the nails."
Aren’t there people who say this today? Aren’t there people who are
instruments of evil and want to trouble our minds, and in the name of
"science" proclaim the miraculous to be false by giving materialistic
explanations of faith? They produce nonsense concerning the tomb and remains
of Jesus. The Apostle Paul rightly predicted the presence of such men and
their destructive deeds and words: "For the time is coming when people will
not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will
accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn
away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths." (2 Timothy
4:3-4)
Be careful, be a thousand times careful that your Christian virtue not be
corrupted by human temptations, and that your pure faith not be ruined.
The Apostle Thomas wanted to see the Lord with his eyes, and wanted to touch
His wounds with his hands. Today, the tempter tries to blind our soul so
that we will not see the truth and act by the strength and motivation of our
faith.
The Feast of Christ’s Resurrection must make us rejoice. Our faith must be
founded on it and enriched through it, as it was in the past, so also in the
present and future.
For we always proclaimed "My Lord and My God," and never departed from Our
God, the Risen Christ.
A graceful and happy Holy Easter: Christ is risen from the dead.
May your life be filled by the Risen Christ, your days be given meaning
through Him, and may you remain steadfast and firm in your faith.
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN
Prelate
Holy Easter, 2007