On behalf of our Primate Bishop Daniel Findikyan and the entire Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, we extend to you our warm good wishes on Independence Day.
For well over a century now, Armenians have been blessed to merge our way of life with the bounty and liberty of this great nation of America. On these shores our people found a refuge from persecution, but also a land that would sustain and strengthen us as we sought to honor our heritage, and worship our Lord.
The astonishing developments of this year have tested the resilience of that society, and the mettle of its people. These things should not, however, negate the powerful meaning America has held for its Armenian citizens. For successive generations of our people, America is the only home we have ever known. For the people of our ancestral homeland, America is an aspiration to guide them in the building of their own society, based at least in part on ideas first articulated in the Declaration of Independence.
In past times of tension, conflict, or uncertainty, we have prayed with grateful hearts that this land would show its characteristic resilience, born of its ability to overcome adversity and reform its inequities.
This Independence Day we renew those prayers, asking God to bless this land and her people, so that she may never cease to be seen as a sign of hope in the world, and a nurturing friend to our homeland.