By the grace of God I was ordained and consecrated into the Sacred Order of the Priesthood on Sunday, April 29, 2012 by His Eminence Abp. Hovnan Derderian. This was the culmination of 8 years of preparation, and great support on behalf of my wife Annie, my family, and the entire of Western Diocese.
According to our Sacred Tradition, I was given a new name, Mesrop, to signify the new life in which I’ve been graced to serve.
I contemplated leaving this blog as is, and creating a new blog under my new name, but instead I’ve decided to change this blog’s name, and keep my old posts as a record of my journey.
In the near future I hope to post some reflections on my ordination.
Today marks the beginning of a new year, and the beginning of a new journey in my family’s life. I have been assigned as the pastor of St. John Armenian Church, and will take up my duties as soon as we are able to relocate ourselves to the City by the Bay.
For the past two and a half years you may have followed our experiences in Armenia on this blog, flickr, twitter, or Facebook, etc…, where I studied and prepared my mind and spirit for the calling of the Priesthood. By the grace of God, this period of time was fruitful and strengthened not only my vocation, but Annie’s as well. We returned to the United States with the blessing of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to continue our mission and serve our people.
Now, we look onto this new path thats laid before us and we are indescribably humbled. I am humbled that the faithful of St. John Armenian Church have given me the opportunity to be their pastor. I have some small faith in my abilities, more faith in my wife to be my support and my inspiration, and great faith that God will guide us where we falter.
As we start this new chapter in our lives, I’m going to take today’s gospel reading to heart. I’m going to make it my anthem, my motto for the rest of the year. Christ says,
Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. – Luke 22:26
With the Lord’s help, youth and humility are going to be standards of my service. Youth is ignorance in the wisdom of men, which can be corrupt and conceited. Instead, it’s a type wisdom that flows truth and boldness. Humility is the most valuable of all virtues. The humble cast away their ego and their pride and become God’s tools for good. Without humility love couldn’t exist in this world.
I will fall short of these ideals… constantly. However, I pray that God grants me, and all us, the strength to pursue them relentlessly. Please join me in this prayer, and follow us as we begin this new journey in our lives.
Last Saturday was the feast day of St. Nersess Shnorhali, a genius of the Armenian Church, who authored many of the hymns and prayers which continue to be said in our sanctuaries throughout the world.
As part of my personal regime, I’ve committed to praying his seminal work, Հաւատով խոստովանիմ or “I Confess with Faith”, once a day. Toward that goal I’ve formatted the text for my digital devices: the iPad, iPhone, and the Kindle.
Having this prayer with me at all times has allowed me to easily incorporate it into my daily schedule. When I find myself with 10 free minutes, I can just pull out the most convenient device and pray.
I hope that this prayer will enrich your prayer life as it has the faithful of the Armenian People for centuries.
Download
Feel free to download this prayer which includes the original (Ancient) Armenian, and the English translation. The English translation is courtesy of Western Diocese of the Armenian Church.
