Message of Fr. Vazken Movsesian, parish priest of St. Andrew Armenian Church, Cupertino, from the Nakhagoch Newsletter. Electronic version archived on: SAIN-- St. Andrew Information Network -------------------------------------- c. 1991 Fr. Vazken Movsesian Address comments to: dervaz@sain.org -------------------------------------- September 1991 Armenia is independent. It is strange for us to talk of something Armenian in the present tense. All too often, we write or speak about our Armenian as something which was. We pride ourselves in being of the first Christian nation, we hail the battle of St. Vartan, we applaud the accomplishment of St. Mesrob, and we cry at the martyrdom of our people in 1915. These are all events which have taken place in the illustrious history of the Armenian nation and as such, they are past. Recalling these events is paying tribute to our forefathers and foremothers, saying very little, if anything, about us today. We are even tempted to feel that somehow, by osmosis Ñor some such process Ñ we are worthy of this praise, mainly by accidently being born Armenian. But now we have something which is in the here and now Ñan independent republic. It is Armenia and belongs to all those who struggled for it. And by the same accident of birth, it belongs to all Armenians. Words cannot describe the joy that so many of us felt on September 23 when Armenia was officially declared independent. The future for our tiny country may be uncertain, but its destiny is in our hands. In the address of Catholicos Vazken I, during the blessing of the holy miuron in Etchmiadzin (Sept. 29), he made the following observation, For centuries, under the clasp of our oppressor, the Armenian faithful has felt himself free and independent only under the pillars of her Mother Church. The words of His Holiness speaks of the reality many Armenian communities have felt, when in the absence of a home, they have constructed churches where they could mold and guide their own destiny. It is in fact with this feeling that we embarked on building our new church here in the Santa Clara Valley. For a community our size, we needed a place where we could exercise our freedom and define our being. We have built a church and not another structure because in the Church we find the source of our sovereignty, ChristÑ the same Christ who has been the source of life for our people in times of oppression and persecution as well as times of peace and growth. These days it is popular to be a church-basher and a Christ-basher. On the one hand our rationale will not allow us to reconcile the notion of Christ's message of love with the harsh call for force in the real world. Yet on the other hand, we cannot possibly find any rational reason why the Armenian people have survived and endured for so many centuries in such hostile an environment. Can we possibly define the Armenian nation without God? This month we celebrate the feast day of the "first called" nakhagoch Apostle of Christ, St. Andrew. Since the time our primate named our parish "St. Andrew" I have been moved by this saint's work. St. Andrew was a simple man who heard the message of Christ and followed. He was so inspired that he persuaded his brother, Simon Peter, to follow along. He appears only a few times in the Gospels, yet each time that he does, it is always in reference to his introducing someone to Christ. As a community which bears the name of this blessed apostle, this is our greatest missionÑ our duty: introducing Christ. This is a mission we can never loose sight of, no matter how overwhelmed we are with our work and activities for our parish. This is the mission of the entire Church and we, who are named after the first-called apostle must be the first to proclaim it. The St. Andrew parish, in many senses parallels Armenia. It is here that every Armenian is welcome. It is here that despite common sense and rational reasoning, we have survived and continue to grow. It is here that we find meaning and are able to express ourselves in freedom. It is ours and our destiny is in our hands. St. Andrew is living today, in the present tense, because of our struggle, hard work and the Grace of God! Since acquiring our new building, visitors to St. Andrew see a living and vibrant community. Yet, just as our brothers and sisters in Armenia are now finding that their freedom carries with it responsibility, we too have our duty. We are called daily to take an active role in our church. We do so with prayer, with our physical participation and with our financial support. --Fr. Vazken -------------------------------------- c. 1991 Fr. Vazken Movsesian Address comments to: dervaz@sain.org --------------------------------------