Western Diocese

Holy Monday is the day, which gives us the biblical accounts of the creation story. On that day, we read the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis, which tell us not only the story of the Creation, but also the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. However, God's immeasurable love has been reflected in the Incarnation of His Only Begotten Son, thus granting us the chance to be reinstated in the original honor bestowed upon us by God.

The late Patriarch, Archbishop Shnork Kaloustian, leads us to a thoughtful conclusion based on the biblical reading of the day: "There are no men without faith. We all are blessed with the gift to believe. There are only those who have the ignorance to apply faith in their lives."

The biblical readings of the day also remind us how Christ performed the cleansing of the Temple. Similarly, Christ reprimands us to keep our physical bodies pure, thus turning them into the place of inhabitance for God. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (I Cor. 6:19-20).

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian

Primate

March 29, 2010