On May 31, 2025, H. E. Kevork Archbishop Noradounguian was in Lanjik on pastoral visit. He served a Holy Mass on the occasion of the feast of Ascension of the Lord, with the concelebration of Fr. Narek Tadevosyan, the local parish priest. In his homily, H. E. Noradounguian firstly referred to the proper state of the church of Lanjik, which is renovated, neat and solemn, which speaks about the efforts, activity and attention of the parish priest, as due to the house of the Lord, said the Archbishop. The Ordinary also expressed his special gratitude towards all the local faithful, who are always ready to have their contributions for the Church.

The second point of his homily concerned the preservation of the faith in that small village, against the violations of the long years of atheism. But there exists a certain fear for these communities not to fall in isolation.

“You must feel yourself as a color of a big puzzle, because the neighboring villages and communities also add other colors to that puzzle. You have to see yourself as a part of the worldwide Armenian Catholic Church”.

Speaking on the feast of Ascension, the Ordinary invited the faithful to pay attention to the evangelical story, when before His ascension the Lord told His disciples: “I am with you all the days, even unto the end of the world” and commanded them to go preach the Gospel to all the nations.

His Excellency asked a question: “Do we really wait for the coming of the Lord? In the Jerusalem temple, people were discussing: “Will he come?” They were interested in Jesus, and what about us? Our children?… After the 70 years of the state propaganda of atheism, you were able to keep your faith and hand it over to your children… And is today’s generation interested in Jesus? Do they think about their faith? Today the world has changed, today’s conditions are harder to cope with, life makes temptations for us. If only you could to the half of what your parents have done so far to keep the faith, it will already be enough”.

After Holy Mass, H. E. Noradounguian was invited to a concert event on the occasion of the feast of Ascension, organized in the House of Culture of Lanjik, where the dancing group also had a presentation, then an event of hospitality, during which he had an opportunity to talk to the official persons of the village.

Secretariat of the Ordinariate

2 June, 2025