His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, led a solemn requiem service for the martyred defenders of Armenia and Artsakh, who lost their lives during the 2020 Artsakh war.
He presided over the service on Monday, September 27, 2021, marking one year since the unprovoked surprise Azeri attack on Artsakh’s borders and its capital of Stepanakert.
Following the hokehankisd service in the Mother See’s St. Gayane Monastery, Catholicos Karekin II delivered a brief, poignant message to clergy and worshippers in the chapel, and to faithful Armenians throughout the world.
An English translation follows. Click the following links to read the original Armenian, view photos, and watch a brief video of the ceremonies.
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The Message of His Holiness Karekin II
On the Anniversary of the September 27, 2020 Attack on Artsakh
Dearly beloved faithful,
Today, with pain in our souls, we recall the alarming 44 days of catastrophic war last year—and we remember the brave resistance of our Army to the conspiratorial attack of the enemy.
We remember the heroic deeds of our soldiers and military officers, who though faced by superior military forces of the Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance, would not kneel in submission.
The war was a great ordeal, and the calamity it caused—the serious challenges now facing our people—cannot be resolved in conditions of internal tension and division. Our path to awakening requires a high sense of responsibility. In a spirit of patriotism, each of us must consolidate in a united effort to protect the right of our people of Artsakh to live freely, to defend the borders of Armenia, and to overcome the social problems intensified by the war.
Guided by this vision, let us make efforts to unite the nation in solidarity, and overcome intolerance.
In faithful observance of our Christian values, let us strengthen our statehood, our national-social life, and hold fast to the path of hope, faith, love and justice.
We pray that our people will always attend to the call to defend our homeland, and honor the example left by our heroes who fell for the sake of Artsakh’s independent life; for the sake of our bright future.
From the depths of our heart, we pray for those fallen heroes—defenders of the homeland—and ask for consolation to their relatives, healing for the wounded, and return of the captive and the missing.
We implore God that the Lord’s constant blessing will keep the children of our people—in Armenia, Artsakh, and the diaspora—in peace, safety, and security, today and always. Amen.
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
September 27, 2021