Jesus Christ tried to teach the world that we are all created in the image of God -- not in 
His physical image, but in His spiritual image.  He taught us that though we were created 
in His image, that it is up to us in the way we live our lives which will ultimately 
determine the quality of our spirituality.  


And unlike all the other creatures on earth, God has also endowed us with superior 
intellect and wisdom which, in turn, empower us to determine what is good and what is 
evil, what is right, and what is wrong, and perhaps the greatest of all God’s gifts -- the 
ability to recognize the power of universal love.


All Christian churches are man made.  It’s the people who worship in them that sanctify 
them.  This being the case, a church that is only one day old may oftentimes be more 
sanctified than one that is centuries old.  This of course does not mean that older churches 
weren’t sanctified at one time.  However, it does teach us that the sanctity of a Christian 
church must always be maintained from generation to generation.  In other words, "Use it 
or lose it."   On the other hand, if a church loses its sanctity because it falls short of 
Christian doctrine, it can always be resanctified if its leaders and people find their way 
again.  Our Lord also tried to teach us that our Christian God is All Forgiving.


In 301 A.D., the reigning monarch of Armenia, King Trdat III, proclaimed Christianity as 
Armenia’s State religion.   Those who are versed on the conditions that brought this about 
may also be aware of how St. Gregory the Illuminator miraculously influenced King 
Trdat III to do so.  Of course, there were no civil rights, freedom of speech, women 
suffrage laws, or the independent right to worship as one chose to in those days   But this 
wasn’t surprising since all nations during that period, were governed by monarchs and 
monarchs had the power of life and death over all of their subjects.  	


And so it was that seventeen hundred years ago, Armenia became the first nation in the 
world to embrace Christianity.  And in this respect, whether you were of Armenian 
lineage or not, as long as you lived in Armenia, at the pain of death, you were obligated to 
become a Christian.


However, as the centuries passed, Armenia’s hostile neighbors continued maintaining 
their primitive faiths and/or embraced new non-Christian faiths.  And as many more 
centuries passed, Christian Armenia found itself not only isolated from a burgeoning 
Christian world but also more and more fragmented from within.  So as time went on, 
Armenia not only lost its ancient supremacy but also its independence.  Remarkably, after 
all of its trials and tribulations, the only thing that Armenia managed to salvage intact 
from the ruins of its past was their national Christian faith.


Today, in North America, most Christians of Armenian descent embrace the Armenian 
Apostolic faith.  This is not because Armenians do not respect the fact that Christianity is 
God’s universal faith.  Nor do they believe that the only true Christian faith is what St. 
Gregory the Illuminator established in ancient Armenia in 301 A.D.  The reason they 
doggedly remain Apostolic is because of the seventeen hundred years of tortuous legacy 
that Armenians have had to endure coupled with centuries of bloodletting and brutal 
domination which has left them fanatically determined to preserve their Christian 
heritage.


With the emergence of Armenia as an independent nation on September 21, 1991, the 
Mother See of Etchmiadzin finally became free to start guiding her flock into a new and 
promising millennium.  But the dregs of political division among Diaspora Armenians 
during the twentieth century found the Armenian Apostolic Church that was outside of 
the Mother See’s influence religiously and administratively divided.  And though the 
separated churches now say, "We are religiously one but only administratively divided," 
the true picture shows that the process of division is still in ferment with a bubbling 
cauldron of discontent separating the North American Armenian churches under Cilicia 
and Etchmiadzin even further.  


At present, the many centuries of suffering that the Armenians have had to endure along 
with the millions upon millions of lives they’ve had to sacrifice in order to preserve their 
faith, is fast becoming an ugly scar over the decaying bones of a once tortured but vibrant 
faith -- and as in the past, not because of the people but because of the short-sighted 
self-gratifying monarchial disposition of their politically influenced religious leaders.  Oh 
for sure, what they preach from their divided altars sounds Christian, but saying, "We are 
religiously one but only administratively divided," doesn’t absolve them.  Nor does their 
assertion that they are following the will of the people ring true either.

King Trdat III didn’t poll any of his subjects before he embraced Christianity.  
Furthermore, while our Lord Jesus Christ was bringing the word of God to the world, 
there were no Christian churches and, therefore, no administrators to dictate division.  
Question: What is the justification for the continuing division of our Armenian churches 
and communities in North America?


As far as this writer is concerned, the Armenian Apostolic Church will become  sanctified 
again when it finally becomes truly unified.  As it says in our liturgy, “Door Askis Hayotz 
Ser Miyootium.”  And what better time than now on this the seventeen-hundredth year of 
its birth.


Joseph Vosbikian