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"Today, He was incarnate of the Holy Virgin for the sake of the accursed, and bore the punishment of the first sin."

— From a Hymn of Christmas

Faithful brothers and sisters in Christ,Beloved faithful sisters and brothers,

With the hope-filled words of this hymn, which so beautifully describes the most sacred birth the world has ever known, we share with you the joy and sincerity of our hearts. By God’s will and with the blessing of His Holiness the Catholicos of All Armenians, we were granted the joyous opportunity to celebrate the Divine Liturgy of the Nativity Vigil at the Holy Altar of the newly consecrated and restored Mother Cathedral.

When a new child is born into a family, the event becomes, willingly or unwittingly, a new beginning for all. Life is re-evaluated, prior sufferings gain meaning, and there is a sense of renewal. Those with spiritual insight recognize that the birth of every child is a visible visitation of God in their earthly lives. If we so cherish and celebrate the birth of a child, how much more should we rejoice and be renewed at the Holy and ineffable Birth of the Christ Child in Bethlehem!

Just as every human birth is meant to be a fruit of love, so too the birth of the Son of God is the ultimate and selfless proof of God’s supreme love for humanity. Through His birth, Christ began the work of humanity’s redemption, which was fulfilled through His life, death, and glorious resurrection.

The Almighty God chose the path of human birth to descend into our world, reminding His creation that they are made to ascend towards Him. Through His life, He showed us the way of that ascent.

The Feast of the Nativity constantly invites us to reevaluate the course of our lives. Celebrating it in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin also compels us to reflect on the past, present, and future of our national life.

Our people, having endured countless trials and difficulties, have faced war, displacement, and the terror of death in recent years. There remains an absence of secure confidence in the promise of a safe future. Yet amid this uncertainty and danger, a beacon has been reignited for us—the consecrated and restored Mother Cathedral.

How sweet and meaningful are the words of the historian Arakel Davrizhetsi: "The whole Armenian nation is bound to the Right Hand of the Illuminator and Holy Etchmiadzin."

Holy Etchmiadzin is the spiritual summit toward which every Armenian mind and soul should strive. As the psalmist says: "I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where does my help come?" We must reassess our national mindset, delicately woven into the fabric of this Cathedral and its sacred meaning.

Just as the Catholicos of All Armenians had the wisdom, vision, and resolve to unite national efforts and extend the life of the Cathedral for centuries to come, so too must we, as a nation, have the wisdom, vision, and resolve to ensure the survival of our statehood, never leaving this sacred mission to the whims of fate.

Today, we are physically deprived of one of the bright beacons that united, inspired, and guided our national life in recent decades—Artsakh. Existential threats linger like sparks accumulating on the Armenian horizon. Yet we must not forsake the vision of Artsakh, for Artsakh is not the past; it is the prudent and wise demand of the present and the light of the future.

Kneeling before the Nativity manger, we pray for the unshakable strength of our country and statehood, for the soldiers guarding our borders, for the peace of the souls of our martyred heroes, and for the swift return of our missing and captive children. Now, as the anticipation and hope for peace take flight in our hearts, we cannot help but ask ourselves: Where is the peace promised by God that the angels proclaimed on the night of the Savior’s Birth? It seems that humanity still searches for that peace from the time of Christ’s incarnation to this day. Yet the words of Holy Scripture are undoubtedly true, meaning that peace has indeed descended to earth from that very day.

That peace is the incarnation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The divine essence, eternally united with human nature, restored humanity’s ability to live by the law of God’s love, to act in faith, and to look to the future with hope. To see peace in the world, one must first find and love it within themselves. That peace is Jesus Christ. This peace, which came as the embodied expression of love, can take flesh and blood in our national, societal, and family lives only through love—love for God and our neighbor, love for our compatriot, love for our fellow believer, love for the suffering and the needy, and love for our shared values and mission. This love must not only be expressed in words and speeches but must take form through deeds. Just as God expressed His love by becoming incarnate and dwelling among us, so too is this the true path to lasting peace for us. On this beautiful Vigil night, let us take the light of Christ’s peace from the church, symbolized by the lit candles, and bring it into our homes, filling them with the love, warmth, and joy of the Bethlehem grotto. This light, born in humility, has guided the faithful children of our people for centuries. Inspired by this light, Saint Gregory the Illuminator established the Holy Altar of Light in Etchmiadzin, where the unifying and strengthening light of Christ shines forth perpetually. Dear ones, may the celebration of Christmas not be merely the commemoration of a beautiful biblical story, but the search for Christ’s birth—not in distant Bethlehem, but within each of our hearts and souls. Let us each ask ourselves today: "Have I given birth to works of love in my heart? Have I prepared a place for faith in my soul? And have I kept the torch of hope alight in my mind?" Only with a resounding yes can the Birth of the Christ Child truly illuminate our lives and become a genuinely Holy Christmas for us.