“PEACE BE TO ALL”
Welcoming the New Year’s dawn,
Spirit aflame with the mystery of Christmas,
This is our beseeching prayer
That we release toward sunlit horizons;
Peace to the universe, to the whole of humanity, to our world,
Peace to Armenia, to the Armenian Diaspora, to the Armenian nation,
Peace to our families and children, to you, to us,
Peace to the forefathers, and to the future yet to come.
Genuine peace, however, does not come from this life, but from God. As the Holy Bible assures; “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
At the dawn of the New Year, ahead of the feast of the Holy Nativity and its grandeur, I come before you, my beloved people, and in lieu of a message – with prayerful contemplation and on behalf of you all – I lift up entreating prayers to our Lord Creator and God of Peace, earnestly pleading;
Lord, You Who is the supreme creative force of the universal order and breath of all existence, grant peace to all the afflicted on this earth and to our planet created by the power of Your word. Lord, may warfare come to an end and the rumbling of bombs be lulled by the song of the angels; may the heart-rending cries of Your people be replaced with “Holy, Holy,” and may “Glory to God in the Highest” become a fixture in the lives of all mankind.
May all persons hereafter placate and reconcile with You, and congregate under Your blessed canopy. May they love one another as You love us, so that they may also find reconciliation with their fellow man and become brothers. May spite, hatred, curses, malice, envy, and vainglory henceforth recede from this world and people regard one another with kindness to enjoy mutual goodwill. May all those joined with Jesus sow seeds of peace so that successive generations may justly reap the fruits of their labor. “Peace be to all.”
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Indivisible God. The Armenian nation has, for centuries, walked in the path of Christ. It exalted the Christian faith and regarded Your Son – Christ – above all other truths. Lord, guard with Your eyes our small lands martyred for Your Son and replete with the blood of our saints, lands still besieged by enemies. Yesterday and today, our enemies remain unchanged. Of our historic lands spanning sea to sea, today remains only a fragment; a fledgling republic with a wounded sliver of Artsakh and comparatively new concept of the Diaspora, with children of the Armenian nation dispersed across the four corners of the world. Hear our supplications, Lord, and bless us all, here and there, near and far, Armenian or foreign speaking, for all are our children and rightful inheritors of the first Christian nation, our ancient and sacred homeland.
Grant peace to the Armenian nation, Lord, for our essence and civilization blossomed by the grace-giving faith of Your Jesus, my Jesus, our Jesus, and anchored its faith on the words of Christ which says; “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
I beseech You, Lord, through the mystery of the Holy Nativity turn Your gaze upon our nation and homeland, and cascade Your peace over the Armenian people and Armenia, all the days and over all families. Grant longevity to all mothers, fathers, children, sisters, brothers, and kin, and grant that the departed rest peacefully in Your palms.
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Peace to our ancestors, to their triumphant spirit, from Haig Nahabed to the soldiers defending the borders of Artsakh. Peace to the souls of all our departed who passed away but did not fade away, who live eternally in heaven and are remembered in the depths of the soul of our nation and people.
On behalf of Your people, Lord, we look to the future yet to come, which although is cloaked by a shroud at this moment in time, yet we believe that You have a divine revelation reserved for us, limitless heavenly wonders to caress the heart and soul of each individual Armenian-Christian on this feast of the Holy Nativity. Holy Nativity – the supreme tiding of peace in the history of mankind, which resonated from the firmament above. Almighty God, let us look with brightness – as a nation – to that which is to come, and let divine hope radiate from the future to the present. Hope, of which we become worthy only by Your grace. Glory to God in the Highest. Amen.
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With these prayerful sentiments and with warm filial love I greet His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.
With Christian love I greet the Western Prelacy Representative Assembly, Religious and Executive Councils, our parishes, parish priests and Boards of Trustees, our schools, Board of Regents and School Boards, teachers-educators, media and national servants, friends, sponsors, and faithful, wishing for a New Year brimming with peace. Let us walk as one in the footsteps of Jesus toward Him – our Lord, peace-giving Son of God.
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND MERRY CHRISTMAS
CHRIST IS BORN AND REVEALED
BLESSED IS THE REVELATION OF CHRIST
Prayerfully,
Bishop Torkom Donoyan, Prelate
Western United States
New Year & Christmas 2022
