“Today, we have no more important task than to prevent the spread of the pandemic in order to return to our normal lives,” His Holiness Karekin II told an assemblage of clergy late last week. “Preventing a disaster is possible only through a united effort, in an atmosphere of solidarity.”
The Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians made those remarks at a special meeting of the monastic brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin, convened to discuss and review the church’s ongoing response to Armenia’s deepening pandemic crisis.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, at Catholicos Karekin II’s direction, has already expended the equivalent of $600,000 USD in support of Armenia’s medical system during the health crisis.Etchmiadzin has been critically active in the social realm, too, deploying its resources and the ranks of the clergy to help bring food and necessities to our people (click hereto watch a video), especially in areas outside the republic’s metropolitan centers.
“The Mother Church and its clergy have an important role to play,” His Holiness said in his message. “We hold the responsibility to guide our faithful children in concert with the efforts of the government, urging them to strictly follow the advice of the authorities when visiting churches, places of pilgrimage, and wherever they go.”
He offered the same fatherly advice to the church dioceses of the diaspora, which should exhort their people to adhere to local and national health measures.
A Privilege to Help
With the stress of a months-long lockdown, expressions of discouragement and even animosity have become visible at all levels of Armenian society, as elsewhere in the world. But His Holiness struck a note of caution. “The current situation and the challenges facing our country should not become an excuse to retreat from virtue, respect, and tolerance towards others,” he said. “It should not tempt us to violate rights and dignity, or weaken love and devotion towards our patrimony.”
His Holiness has asked the world’s Armenian Church dioceses to help in Armenia’s time of need. The Eastern Diocese’s Fund for Armenian Relief has been doing incredible outreach work throughout the pandemic crisis.
Bishop Daniel has assured the Catholicos of the Diocese’s additional support, and has planned a fundraising initiative for the week of June 14 through 21—between the Feast of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Feast of St. Nersess the Great (Armenia’s “saint of compassion” who sponsored hospitals and charitable concerns throughout the land).
“We have been given the opportunity and the privilege to open our hearts wide to our brothers and sisters in Armenia,” said Bishop Daniel; “to families that have become impoverished due to the COVID-19 virus that continues to ravage the county; and to hospitals that lack the equipment and medicines to combat the virus.”
The fundraising drive is slated to kick off this weekend, and will last through June 21. We ask our faithful to do whatever they can to help advance this important effort for our homeland.