12 July 2014, at the wedding of Arthur and Karine at St. George Armenian Church in Hartford, Connecticut. In 2014, I came to America for the first time. I traveled from Paris, where I was serving as locum tenens of the Armenian Diocese of France, to attend the wedding of my friends Arthur and Karine Petrosyan. The moment I arrived in New York City, something moved deeply within me. It is hard to explain, but I did not feel like I was in a foreign place. I felt a deep peace, a

At the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, touching the stone from which Christ ascended, my heart whispers: “Maranatha; Come, Lord Jesus”, awaiting the One who ascended and will come again. On behalf of all believers, who raise their eyes to the skies, who try to reach out to Heavens, the prophet exclaims, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” (Isaiah 64:1). Lord, if you broke that thickness which seems to separate us from You, then we can, at last, find the true

Some of the most powerful things in life are also the simplest. God has given us one of the most powerful tools to bless others, to lift ourselves up, and to glorify Him, and it’s right under our noses. It’s our smile. The Scripture says, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful” (Proverbs 15:13). A smile begins in the heart. It is the outward sign of an inner joy, a quiet reminder that God is at work within us. Scientists tell us that smiling lowers blood pressure, relieves st