| August 2007
Welcome back to HYE-mail, a monthly e-newsletter of the ACYOA Juniors
sent out to young Armenian Orthodox Christian teens throughout the
Eastern Diocese to help keep you connected to the Armenian Church.
Thank you for helping us continue to grow. If you know of anyone that
might want to receive HYE-mail, let me know. I welcome your thoughts
and ideas for upcoming HYE-mails. Please feel free to contact me.
-- Jennifer E. Morris, Youth Outreach Coordinator
JENNI'S JOURNAL -- Summer's
Over
After a rewarding summer spent at camp, it's back
to the office for me. It’s hard to imagine that seven weeks could go
by so quickly, but they did. Through our Diocesan Summer Camp
Programs, Hye Camp and St. Vartan Camp, more than 500 youth and young
adults were impacted this summer. As many of you know, each year our
camp curriculum focuses on one of the five major feast days in the
Armenian Church. This year’s focus was on the Transfiguration of Our
Lord. Take a moment to read the Bible passages included in this
month’s HYE-mail and think about ways that your experiences this
summer have transformed you. In what ways have you changed? Who or
what has made the greatest impact on you and your choices? How have
you impacted others? And what kind of changes do you still want to
make? I pray that each of you return to classes this fall, renewed,
refreshed, and ready to take on the many challenges you are certain to
face in the upcoming school-year.
Be well,
Jenni
Click here for photos from Hye Camp and St. Vartan Camp.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Assumption of the Holy Mother-of-God
St. Mary fulfilled God’s divine plan for mankind by becoming the
Bearing-of-God, (Asdvadzadzin in Armenian, Theotokos in Greek). The
term “Bearer of God” was officially recognized as the proper term to
be used by the church during the Council of Ephesus in 431. In the Old
Testament we read how the Prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in the
Virgin Mary:
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse (the father
of the King David).”
From her birth, St. Mary was blessed by
God to fulfill His divine plan of salvation. In the Gospel of Luke
1:41-42 it states, “And when Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
and she exclaimed with a loud cry:
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
The Armenian Church doctrine teaches that the Blessed Mother Mary has
a primary place of honor because it was ‘of’ her and ‘by’ the Holy
Spirit that God became incarnate (took human flesh). She is seen as
the image of humanity, fully obedient to God and ultimately sanctified
by doing God’s will.”
Taken from…Bless, O Lord (page 17), DRE Publication, 1989
SAINTS TO KNOW
In the 5th century, at the holy Ecumenical Council
of Ephesus, the Holy Mother's position as "Mother of God" and "Bearer
of God" (Asdvadzamayr-Asdvadzadzin) was doctrinally established. Only
those aspects of St. Mary's life which are directly related to Christ
are mentioned in the Holy Gospels. The remainder of her biography is
attributed to tradition, which is found in much of the most ancient of
ecclesiastical literature.
St. Mary was the daughter of Joachim and Anna of Nazareth (originally
Bethlehem). Anna, being barren, prayed and made special vows for a
child. She then had her only child, a daughter named Mariam (or Mary).
Although Mary was born naturally (having both a father and mother) she
is considered morally pure and immaculate. It is for this reason that
the church not only celebrates her birth but also her conception,
which the Armenian and the Greek Orthodox churches celebrate on
December 9th and the Roman Catholic church celebrates on the 8th.
The concept of her being morally immaculate later developed into the
question of her Immaculate Conception (from Anna), a doctrine adopted
by the Roman Catholic Church in 1854. The Armenian Church, on the
other hand, does not accept this, as it attributes to Mary that which
belongs only to Christ; only Christ was immaculately conceived. Yet,
her purity is unquestioned. According to the teaching of the Armenian
Church, at the time of the Annunciation when the Holy Spirit entered
her she was cleansed of all sin (original sin) as she was to be the
vessel in which God manifest was to be incarnated.
After the Ascension of her divine son, the remainder of Mary's life
comes to us through tradition. It states she lived out the rest of her
days in Jerusalem, cared for by St. John the Evangelist. She died in
Jerusalem some 15 years after Christ's Ascension and was buried in her
family tomb in Gethsemane.
After she passed away, all the apostles -- save Bartholomew who was
absent at that time -- conducted her funeral with great ceremony at a
cave-like tomb in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Later, St. Bartholomew
returned and wished to see Mary one last time. He convinced the
Apostles to open the tomb.
Upon opening the tomb, they could not find her body. Angels' voices
were heard for three days and nights. They interpreted the angels'
singing as a sign that our Lord had assumed (taken up) His Mother into
heaven as He had promised her. They found the empty tomb a
confirmation of that promise for she had not been dead but had fallen
asleep. For this reason, the church refers to the end of her earthly
life as "the dormition" rather than "death."
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
It's Mine
Written by Leslie Snyder
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;
without holiness no one will see the LORD. See to it that no one
misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause
trouble and defile many.—Hebrews 12:14
If you’ve ever witnessed a group of toddlers at play, then you have
experienced the “Toddler’s Rules of Toys.” If this isn’t familiar to
you, allow me to explain. In a toddler’s world, it goes something like
this:
If I have a toy, it’s mine.
If you have a toy I want, it’s mine.
If I have a toy and put it down, and you pick it up, it’s mine.
If you have a toy I want and you put it down, it’s mine.
If you head toward a toy I might want to play with, it’s mine.
In fact, it’s all mine!
While there are many amusing versions of this poem, it is doused in
truth. And, while it might be a bit humorous to watch in a toddler,
it’s absolutely appalling to see in adults. In the book of Hebrews,
the author exhorts the reader to make every effort to live in peace
with everyone. But, in order to follow that instruction, all ideas
regarding “me” and “mine” must be put aside, because the truth is,
living at peace with all people requires a tremendous amount of
energy, humility and maturity. And, if you think this was an isolated
event, consider Paul’s words to the church in Philippi, “Do nothing
out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider
others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to
your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
As Christ’s followers, we should find that serving others is becoming
more and more second nature. Look today for ways to follow Christ’s
example.
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