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THE PATRIARCH IN SAMATYA

On Sunday, 1 July 2007, His Beatitude Mesrob II, Armenian Patriarch of
Istanbul and All Turkey, presided over the Divine Liturgy at the
Samatya St. George Armenian Church. Father Diran Reisyan led the
Divine Liturgy. The church was completely filled with
worshipers. Accompanying His Beatitude the Patriarch were his personal
guard, Ergun Karagoz, and a member of the Security Branch, Bora
Baloglu.

ion=DisplayNews&NewsCode=N000001985&Lang=E NGSERMON
Preaching just prior to the Lord’s Prayer, His Beatitude the Patriarch
spokeas follows.`He put before them another parable: `The kingdom of
heaven may be comparedto someone who sowed good seed in his field; but
while everybody was asleep,an enemy came and sowed weeds among the
wheat, and then went away. So whenthe plants came up and bore grain,
then the weeds appeared as well. And theslaves of the householder came
and said to him, `Master, did you not sowgood seed in your field?
Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ Heanswered, `An enemy has
done this.’ The slaves said to him, `Then do youwant us to go and
gather them?’ But he replied, `No; for in gathering theweeds you would
uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them growtogether until
the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers,Collect the
weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gatherthe wheat
into ! my barn.’ ‘ ` (Matt 13:24-30)After reading the passage from
the Gospels, His Beatitude the Patriarchcontinued as follows. `My Dear
Community, this parable of Our Lord JesusChrist concerns the Kingdom
of God. When living in this transient world thebeliever sometimes is
sometimes tested by evil. What is important is not tobe influenced or
come under the sway of bad things. In the parable the ownerof the
field is the Lord God. He sees both what the good and what the
evildo. Before the harvest The Owner of the Field does not want to
separate outthe evil ones. But when it is harvest time, the evil ones
will be sent toHell to burn in eternal torture, while those who are
good, who do what theycan to live according to the Lord’s will, will
go to Heaven. The definitionof the ones who are good is those people
who live by the Lord’s will. We cangive some examples as needed in
regard to the Lord’s will.`Do not think that I have come to abolish
the law or the prophets; I havecome not to abolish b! ut to
fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven andearth pass away, not
one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass fromthe law until
all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of theleast of
these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will becalled
least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teachesthem
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt 5:17-19)`You
have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, `You shall
notmurder’; and `whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I
say to youthat if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be
liable tojudgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be
liable to thecouncil; and if you say, `You fool’, you will be liable
to the hell of fire.So when you are offering your gift at the altar,
if you remember that yourbrother or sister has something against you,
leave your gift there beforethe altar and go; first be reconciled to
your brother or sister, and ! then come and offer your gift. Come to
terms quickly with your accuser while youare on the way to court with
him, or your accuser may hand you over to thejudge, and the judge to
the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. TrulyI tell you, you
will never get out until you have paid the last penny.'(Matt
5:21-26)`You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit
adultery.’ But I sayto you that everyone who looks at a woman with
lust has already committedadultery with her in his heart. If your
right eye causes you to sin, tear itout and throw it away; it is
better for you to lose one of your members thanfor your whole body to
be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causesyou to sin, cut it
off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose oneof your members
than for your whole body to go into hell. It was also said,`Whoever
divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ButI
say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground
ofunchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a
divorcedwoman commits adultery.’ (Matt 5:27-32)`Again, you have heard
that it was said to those of ancient times, `Youshall not swear
falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’But I say
to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is thethrone of
God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem,for it
is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for
youcannot make one hair white or black.7Let your word be `Yes, Yes’ or
`No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.’ (Matt
5:33-37)`You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a
tooth for atooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if
anyone strikesyou on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if
anyone wants to sue youand take your coat, give your cloak as well;
and if anyone forces you to goone mile, go also the second mile. Give
to everyone who begs from you, anddo not refuse anyone who wants to
borrow from you.’ (Matt 5:38-42)“You have heard that it was said,
`You shall love your neighbor and hateyour enemy.’ But I say to you,
Love your enemies and pray for those whopersecute you, so that you may
be children of your Father in heaven; for hemakes his sun rise on the
evil and on the good, and sends rain on therighteous and on the
unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, whatreward do you
have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if yougreet only
your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?Do not
even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as yourheavenly
Father is perfect.’ (Matt 5:43-48)`Do you not know that wrongdoers
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do notbe deceived! Fornicators,
idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes,sodomites, thieves, the
greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers – none of thesewill inherit the
kingdom of God.’ (1 Cor 6:9-10)His Beatitude the Patriarch encouraged
the entire congregation with these words: `Let us trust in our
Lord. God is true to His Word. May God’s graceand blessings be with
us. Let God equip each of us with His gifts. Amen.’After the sermon
most of the worshippers came forward to share in the Lord’s Table.