26 March 2014. On Wednesday Catholicos Aram I, accompanied by clergy and the seminary students, attended the Lenten Sunrise Service (Arevakal) at the St. Nishan Church in Beirut upon the invitation of the Prelate and the Church Council.

After giving thanks for the invitation, Catholicos Aram I addressed the faithful, quoting the Biblical text spoken by Jesus, “Don’t be afraid, only believe” (Luke 8:50). He then said that Jesus not only spoke of the power of faith but also demonstrated it though his life from Bethlehem to Golgotha. He continued, “Through the centuries, our people have survived persecutions and difficulties, yet always rebuilt our Church and homeland. We lost one-and-a-half million people during the Genocide and we resurrected.” He then described the situation of the Armenian community in Syria and the recently displaced people from Kessab, and said, “Irrespective of all difficulties, our people remain attached to their country. Ideologies and political systems of governances are temporary. People and their land are permanent.” The Catholicos then added, for the third time, Turkey has uprooted our people from their homes. We cannot keep silent.” The Catholicos then concluded, “The Catholicosate of Cilicia will respond to the needs of our displaced people of Kessab in the same way that it has protected the survivors of the Genocide since 1915.”