Armenian Church of Austin

12/27/2023

Drug addiction still rages. There IS a port in the storm:

09/21/2023

09/21/2023

⚠️ ALERT: The Armenian Christians of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) are the target of large-scale military attacks by Azerbaijan this week. Azerbaijan is executing its final solution to the quest for freedom and security the Armenian population seeks. Thousands of civilians have fled to a Russian “peacekeepers” base, unable to return home. Thousands more are missing, or trapped, encircled by hostile Azerbaijani forces, and in imminent danger of a massacre.

How can you help:

🔼 Please share this post to raise awareness about the dire circumstances of these innocent people.

🔼 Visit https://marchtojustice.org/ today and message your elected representatives to stand with Artsakh.

09/21/2023

⚠️ Take action : Visit https://marchtojustice.org/ today and message your elected representatives to stand with Artsakh.

09/21/2023

⚠️ ALERT: The Armenian Christians of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) are the target of large-scale military attacks by Azerbaijan this week. Azerbaijan is executing its final solution to the quest for freedom and security the Armenian population seeks. Thousands of civilians have fled to a Russian “peacekeepers” base, unable to return home. Thousands more are missing, or trapped, encircled by hostile Azerbaijani forces, and in imminent danger of a massacre.

How can you help:

🔼 Please share this post to raise awareness about the dire circumstances of these innocent people.

🔼 Visit https://marchtojustice.org/ today and message your elected representatives to stand with Artsakh.

09/15/2023

Join the Diocese on Tuesday evenings through September 26, to learn more about St. Nersess Shnorhali--and to enter his world, mind and soul on this 850th anniversary of the great saint's passing.

Diocesan Primate Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan will lead this week's presentation on Tuesday, September 19, at 7 pm EDT, over the Zoom platform. The Primate will speak on "St. Nersess and the Three-fold Way of Theosis."

Click the link to learn more and join:
https://vemkar.us

The first four episodes are available to watch online. Click the link below to watch:
https://www.youtube.com//videos

09/06/2023

09/05/2023

When “Give us our daily bead (“Զհաց մեր հանապազորդ տուր մեզ այսօր”) becomes very literal:

In blockaded Artsakh, the government has just reduced the daily ration of bread to a 1/2 loaf (200g) per day per family. People queue through the night in hopes of taking a small bit of bread home to their families before morning. Often they leave empty-handed as the daily supply is fully distributed before their number is called. Until now the government has been able to supply only 50-60% of the population with bread, which is why daily rations are now reduced to 1/2 loaf from one loaf. There is little wheat remaining, so bread is now made from locally-grown corn. With no food, medicine, fuel and power cut off, transport of local produce is severely hampered and homes are left dark without running water for much of the day. While standing their ground, the population is weakened and vulnerable after 9 months, there are large-scale movements of Azeri military equipment being reported over the last few days moving toward the contact line of Artsakh and the Armenia border.

Pray for the people of Artsakh.

07/30/2023

“A man with leprosy came to him begging him, and kneeling, he said to him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I am willing. Be made clean!” Immediately the skin disease left him, and he was made clean.” (Mark 1:40-42).

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that mainly affects the skin, peripheral nerves, mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, and eyes. However, when speaking about leprosy in the Bible, the word “cleansing” is always used, not “healing.” In this part of the Gospel, the l***r does not say: “If you wish, you can heal me,” but instead, he says: “Clean me.” When Jesus sent his apostles to preach the Gospel, he said to them: “Heal the sick, cleanse the l***rs.” (Matthew 10:8). Why?

Because leprosy is likened to sin. The strange thing about leprosy is that outwardly it seems that the patient is in terrible pain, but in reality, l***rs feel almost no pain because the disease kills the nerves that communicate pain. Sin, like leprosy, kills the cells of our conscience and dims our sense of right and wrong. Conscience is the receiver of spiritual pain impulses. However, when over time, sin numbs and numbs our conscience, we don't feel the pain of the open wounds in our souls. The more we ignore sin, the less we feel its damage and pain.

It's strange, but sometimes pain is important and even useful, because if we do not feel pain, we will continue to harm ourselves unconsciously. Those who say, "I follow my conscience," can, unfortunately, be very easily mistaken because the weaker our conscience becomes, the more unreliable it becomes. The conscience becomes dull and does not feel the damage caused by sin to our very being.

Therefore, let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse our conscience and spiritual senses from the corruption of sin.

Now, O caregiving, mighty, heavenly, kind,
creator of all out of nothing,
send the thunderbolt of wisdom in powerful words,
upon the movements of my tongue
that it might cleanse the senses
with which you endowed me,
so that with the faculties you created and
fixed a second time,
I might offer thanks to you
with unfailing voice and unbroken speech.
For the glory of the majesty of your Father,
our God, forever.
Amen. (Narek, Chapter 22e).

Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan