Easter and the Armenian Genocide - April 24, 2011

This year, for the very first time, Easter and Armenian Martyrs Day fall on the same date - April 24th. Which are we to recognize? Surely, Easter takes precedence, but can we somehow observe both?

At Easter, we celebrate life, specifically the resurrected life of Christ. On the opposite side of the spectrum, on Armenian Martyrs Day, we commemorate the death of 1.5 million Armenians during the Armenian Genocide enacted in 1915. Can we celebrate both life, and commemorate death on the same day?

What if the life of Christ's resurrection and the death of 1.5 million Armenians are not really on opposite sides of the spectrum? That is, what if life and death, for the Christian, are not so far apart? If not, then perhaps we can connect Easter and Armenian Martyrs Day in a unique way; a way that has never been attempted before.

We can reflect on the idea that death does not exist for the Christian. In the Divine Liturgy, we repeat the words, "You, the unchangeable One, became man and You were crucified, O Christ our God, and You trampled down death by death." The Armenian Christian martyrs who embraced death did so knowing that in death there is life. Today, we can also know that the resurrection of Christ gives meaning to those who kept and died for their faith without compromise.

So, as we reflect on Christ's resurrection this year, let's also reflect on the the death and life of the 1.5 million Armenian martyrs and imagine them echoing the words with us, "Krisdos haryav ee merelotz! Orhnyal eh harootiunun Krisdosee! Christ is risen from the dead! Blessed is the resurrection of Christ!"

"I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die..." - John 11:25-26

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For further reading on Easter and the Armenian Genocide, please click the link below to read the 2011 Easter message from Archbishop Khajag Barsamian (from which my post was inspired):

"I have Overcome the World" (Easter 2011)

Krisdos haryav ee merelotz! Orhnyal eh harootiunun Krisdosee!
Christ is risen from the dead! Blessed is the resurrection of Christ!