Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II issued the following Easter message.

Dear pious believers,

Today is the miraculous feast of the Holy Resurrection, a feast of return, of victory over sin and death.

Christ was resurrected, the door to the grave was opened, and the angels brought the light of life. The apostles were fortified and inspired by the revelation of the risen Savior. The glorious Resurrection Our Lord Jesus Christ gave mankind the heavenly grace to rise from Golgotha, to conquer death, to inherit eternal life. We are encouraged by that confidence, strengthened in the face of afflictions and sorrows, in the face of the horrible reality of death, having the firm belief that Christ has risen, has restored life, has brought mankind out of the darkness of sin and evil, and reconciled man to God.

The Resurrection of Christ opened the bright path of blessed life, hope, love, peace and solidarity. Deviation from this life-giving path spreads death and destruction instead of resurrection, condemnation and destruction instead of salvation, turns life into a whirlpool of hatred and division, full of evil trials and dangers.

My beloved people, last year our people, like the Savior, suffered the crucifixion again. Thousands of our loving children died in the hellish furnace of war. We lost a significant part of Artsakh, our native homeland. Both before the war and in the post-war period, the zeal for love and solidarity, the way of life according to God's messages, were not firmly established in our lives.

The divisions and the sowing of hatred, the spirit of intolerance, the continuing political upheavals, have put our country and people in danger of new shocks and declines, overshadowing the noble ideas of patriotism and love of country. And the unquenchable concern for the security of the homeland, the lack of a vision of the homeland, the disappointment and despiar have clouded our future hopes with the darkness of uncertainty.

No circumstance, no goal, nothing can justify the division and weakening of the nation and the homeland, the violation of our national values and ancestral inheritance, the denationalization and demoralization of the new generation, the degradation of the nation's dignity and honor.

On this soul-stirring day, let us pray that the blessing and graces of our Savior Lord will be spread in the hearts of the people, bringing peace, prosperity to the world, wisdom to politicians, regulating state and public life, and leading to prosperity. Let us pray for our children who were wounded in the war.

Beloved, Christ is risen, to give us the power to renew our souls, our lives. Let us not despair or be discouraged by the tribulations that surround us. Let us remain strong in the faith of the resurrection. Let us live the miracle of the resurrection in our country and in life. Let us remain passionately dedicate to our native cradle, our land, water, our hearth, to prevent emigration from the homeland, and to strengthen our state. With the help of the Lord, we will overcome the bitterness and disasters of our lives, achieving the realization of our hopes and visions, the creation of a new life.

On this soul-revival day, let us pray that the blessing and graces of our Lord and Savior Lord will be spread in the hearts of the people, bringing peace, prosperity to the world, wisdom to politicians regulating state and public life, and leading to prosperity.

Let us pray for the health of our children wounded in the war, the return of the captives, the missing, the comfort of the souls of our fallen heroes, the dead of the epidemic, consoled with the words our Lord Jesus Christ, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25).

May the inspiring news of Easter give the power of realizing patriotic dreams to our people all over the world. And let the sky be adorned with the dawn of the Resurrection of our national-ecclesiastical life, and may our homeland, Armenia and Artsakh, remain peaceful and secure, our people be strong in faith, love and unity, today and always. Amen.

Christ is risen from the dead,

Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ