On October 20, the youth union of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, as well as several youth and non-governmental organizations organized a Pilgrimage of Love, Faith and Loyalty, reports the press office of the Mother See to “Hayern Aysor”.

The pilgrimage was called for reaffirming the loyalty of the Armenian youth towards national and spiritual values, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and its mission in the people’s lives.

The pilgrimage, which was held with the participation of thousands of youth from the dioceses of Armenia, Artsakh and Georgia, youth unions and non-governmental organizations, was launched at Freedom Square in Yerevan from where the young pilgrims marched towards Republic Square with crosses and slogans calling for preservation of national and spiritual values. As they headed towards Etchmiadzin, the procession led by clergymen to the sounds of songs and drums moved from St. Hripsime Monastery towards the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin where the youth prayed in front of the open altar of St. Trdat.

After the Lord’s Prayer, the pilgrims sang the psalm “Blessed is God”, after which the representative of the Youth Union of the Armenian Church, Archimandrite Yeghishe Avetisyan read the declaration of the pilgrims in which it is stated: “I, the loyal follower and bearer of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, pledge to stay true to our national and spiritual identity and values, love my homeland, my Holy Church, stay true to the Armenian family, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and our heritage. God, the Armenian Patriarch, this Holy Temple, our saints and my brothers and sisters gathered here be my witness.”

After the performance of the song “Etch Miadzinn I Horeh”, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians gave his blessing and conveyed his message. “The first miracle in our faith took place in 301 when Christianity was declared as a state religion in Armenia and, according to the Illuminator’s vision, the Holy Temple of Miadznaetch (Descent of the Only Begotten Son of God), the Holy Table of Descent around which the king, princes and the people pledged to love God wholeheartedly, to be a nation that is loyal to God in all times, in all offices and pledged that they will resist all trials and tribulations with their faith. In our nation’s case, faith continued to work miracles because the nation always remained loyal to the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, as a result of which our Armenian alphabet was created as the “undefeatable soldiers” defending our spiritual values. We marched together throughout the centuries with these national and spiritual values, resisting all trials and tribulations and all the temptations. With that faith we won the Battle of Avarayr, the Battle of Sardarapat and in Artsakh. With that faith we declared the independence of Armenia…Faith also worked miracles in our people’s lives. Today, we see evidence of faith as we look at the young pilgrims gathered here, which is the evidence of our nation’s spiritual rebirth,” the Supreme Patriarch mentioned.

Touching upon the ideas of love, faith and loyalty declared in the covenant, the Supreme Patriarch urged the youth to turn them into a reality and make them the basis for their divine acts. “…If Christ doesn’t live in our souls and doesn’t guide us, then where is life? Christ is the Light, and if the Light “settles” in our souls, there can’t be evil acts. Christ is love, and if we awaken that love in our souls, there can’t be worries or misunderstanding. We glorify God for helping the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church carry out its mission in the independent Armenia today,” His Holiness said.

The Supreme Patriarch also talked about the existing temptations and trials and tribulations in Armenian society, as well as the phenomena that aren’t characteristic of the rules of the Armenian family, our history, our Christian faith and our spiritual values. “We must be able to overcome all this, relying on our Lord, and we must be able to resist all this by staying true to our Holy Church. It’s true when they say that if Godo is with us, then nobody can oppose us. With our belief in God, we have scored victories and have come out victorious. Thus, with this confidence, let us rely on our Lord so that we always score victories. It is our strong faith that must always be preserved in the Holy Church. It is our strong faith and love that must keep Armenia strong, and with that love and faith we must be able to resist all the difficulties in our life,” His Holiness emphasized.

Afterwards, the Catholicos of All Armenians talked about the important role of Armenian youth in the lives of Armenians and called on every young pilgrim to be the worthy children of their fathers, follow the Christian faith, the Lord’s Commandments and live with those values with the Holy Cross so that the Lord always has mercy for the Armenian nation.

In the end, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II expressed his appreciation of the organizers of the pilgrimage, as well as the diocesan leaders, spiritual pastors and young pilgrims who supported the pilgrimage and addressed the participants. “Unite with the blessing of our Church, keep the roads leading to the Church open. Here is where you will come into contact with Our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is where you will receive strength. Here is where your souls will be filled with happiness. Here is where you are blessed.

Stay true to the ideas that you declared here as a sacred oath, live with them, make your lives brighter, strengthen the homeland of all Armenians with those values so that Armenians continue to live and create for the Armenian nation in peace.”

After the patriarchal blessing, the participants of the pilgrimage sang the song “Ter Voghormea” in front of the Open Altar, after which they embraced each other with the tiding of the Apparition of Christ to the sounds of the psalm “Kristos I Mej Mer Haytnetsav”.

The pilgrimage ended with the Supreme Patriarch’s prayer “Guardian” and the Patriarchal Wish.