Today, we are celebrating the Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak. It is one of the four feasts dedicated to the Holy Cross and is unique to the Armenian Church. This miraculous event most probably took place on December 30, 660 A.D., when the relic of the Holy Cross, long thought to be lost, […]

Being able to find our way, being able to explore and navigate the world we live in is an essential survival skill. From the earliest periods of civilization, humanity looked up to the bright and beautiful stars of the skies for guidance, charted and mapped the known world, we invented instruments and devices that help […]

Beethoven first noticed difficulties with his hearing when he was about 28. By the age of 31 he lost about 60 percent of his hearing and became totally deaf when he was about 44 or 45. Beethoven’s worst fear came true. The genius of a sound, the man who gave the gift of the most […]

Last week we talked about loneliness as an epidemic that takes over our lives, impacts our relationships, families and well-being. We recognized that it is of paramount importance for us as a community of faith to act and minister to those most vulnerable to loneliness. Today, I would like us to reflect and think about […]

When we read biblical stories about great miracles we are often captivated by the divine, the extraordinary, the miraculous. It is sometimes very easy to overlook the important role and function a simple human being plays in the realization of great miracles. Today’s Gospel reading is extraordinary, because very intentionally and clearly it highlights the […]

Not long ago, I was talking to one of our parishioners and this person was sharing how exhausted he felt from not being able to help enough, make a real difference, from the scope of grief, disaster and misery all around us. “Der Hayr’, he said, “I just sent a check for Artsakh, then there […]

I fail. I fail meeting my own expectations, hopes and dreams. It does not mean there is a grand conspiracy against me, that God is judging or punishing me or that the universe is against me. We all fail. Everything great and beautiful in life, everything we cherish, everything we live for at some point […]

In the 1920s a group of archeologists from Yale University made a stunning discovery. In the heart of the Syrian desert they located the ancient city of Dura-Europos. The city was abandoned in the third century after the Partian army captured the city and deported its population. They never returned; the city was never to […]

“Grant, Lord that I may know myself that I may know thee.” – Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D. The lectionary of the Armenian Church invites us to reflect on the parable of the Lost Sheep. In the parable, the shepherd does something seemingly irrational and foolish. He leaves the ninety-nine of his sheep and goes […]