Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia issued the following statement marking the New Year. (unofficial translation).

2020 was a disturbing year for all humanity and especially for our people. Indeed, in the wake of the coronavirus and the economic crisis, the Artsakh war, with its land loss and devastation, with casualties and injuries, deeply shocked the lives of all Armenians. The independence of Artsakh and even the territorial integrity of Armenia was endangered.

It is not right to remain indifferent in the face of this crisis full of terrible dangers and unpredictable consequences. It is also not right to be depressed. It is not right, especially, to become a prisoner of the mental state of defeatism. It is necessary, as an individual or a nation, to strengthen our faith, to strengthen our hope, to strengthen our will, and to get out of the current uncertainty that is draining our potential and leading us to retreat.

In Armenia and Artsakh, it is necessary to stay away from measures that deepen internal polarizations and instability and open a new page in our collective life, mixed with renewed faith and hope. This is the imperative of the moment. Indeed, what happened in Artsakh cannot be kept under the dust of oblivion. We must continue the natural course of our lives. Our people demand accountability.

The owner of the homeland, first and foremost, is the people, not individuals or authorities. It is the people who determine its destiny, present and future. Consequently, our people reject any decision or agreement imposed from inside or outside that endangers the foundations of their existence and identity, the independence of their homeland. The lands of Artsakh and Armenia, forged by the prayers of our saints and the blood of our martyrs, the right of our people to live freely and independently, cannot fall victim to political bargaining and geopolitical interests.

The Armenian people, who survived the Genocide, with their newly independent homeland, its wounded but still standing Artsakh, and its powerful Diaspora, say "no" to defeat and despair. We are a people of victory. We are a people strengthened by the faith of Christ, resurrected by the cross. Therefore, let the veil of mourning be lifted from our lives and let the rainbow of hope and love mixed with the blood of our martyrs fly over the sky of Armenian life.

Instead of mourning, we are called to organize a march of victory and walk forward side by side, heart to heart, believing in the homeland with its supreme values ​​and aspirations, noting the inalienable rights of our nation, the core and purpose of our lives.

The Armenian nation has no other way. Let us, dear Armenians, pray together that the New Year, which opens with God's blessing, will become a blessed year for our nation and homeland, full of heavenly goods.

May God grant heavenly peace to the martyred heroes of our army, speedy recovery to the wounded and all the sick, consolation to the bereaved families, security to Armenia and Artsakh, and health, success and happiness to all the children of our nation.

Happy New Year.