Surrounded by Our Martyrs

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and scourging, chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were killed with the sword. They went about in animal skins—destitute, af­flicted, ill-treated. The world was not worthy of them—yet they wan­dered over deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

All of these people, though their faith was well-attested, did not receive what was promised. For God had foreseen something better for us: that apart from us they should not be made perfect. And now we are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses… (Hebrews 11:35-12:1)

On this day of solemn remembrance, we offer prayers for our beloved ancestors who perished in the Armenian Genocide of 1915. We recall the words of Scripture that seem to echo with their sufferings—even as they echo with our own awareness that “we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses,” whose vindication in this world lies in our hands.

Today—ninety-nine years after the beginning of the Genocide—we affirm our abiding hope in the resurrection of our Lord, and the promise it holds for our departed countrymen, and for all mankind. May that hope guide us in the coming year.

With prayers,

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian

Primate

A khatchkar in the forest near Kashatagh in Artsakh. Photographed by Hrair Hawk Khatcherian.

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