I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

By Zaven Khanjian, AMAA Executive Director/CEO

The internet is a depository for a wealth of information and knowledge on a vast spectrum of subjects, available 24/7 to a rainbow of people around the planet.

The internet has also grown to become a depository of half-truths, false news, and an abundant storage of hatred, lies and immorality.

The key to its value lies in the careful scrutiny of what a researcher is seeking

A treasure that I recently came across on the internet is the authoritative 1611 King James Bible (the picture illustrates a copy of the special edition marking the 400th anniversary of the translation and publication in 2011), the first Bible printed by the prestigious Oxford University Press in the year 1611. The 400th anniversary volume reprinted the large body of preliminary matter, which includes genealogies, maps, and lists of readings, as well as the translator’s preface to the reader; content removed from later editions.

What attracted me to this first Oxford University Press edition of the Bible is where the editors and authoritative scholars placed Armenia in the genealogy of civilizations. This group of learned scholars seal their knowledge of man, religion and humanity in the opening pages of the first edition of the Bible in print, asserting that ARMENIA is the Cradle of Civilization.

This knowledge is certainly not alien to historians. The renowned British political leader and Prime Minister William E. Gladstone is credited with echoing that common knowledge of history quoting, “Armenia is the cradle of civilization.” However, seeing the illustration in a print of the Bible places the truth on an even higher plateau.

This statement is not to boast about ourselves but rather in the grace of the Lord whose light we have reflected through centuries.

This cradle of civilization, the first Christian nation in the world, having ‘set the light on the hill,’ having ‘raised it on a candlestick,’ has broadly contributed to the illumination of the world. This martyred nation, witnessing for Christ the Lord, once again and in different parts of the world, is on a rendezvous with a myriad of trials and tribulations.

From the threat of hunger and famine in Lebanon to an economic and commercial siege in Syria. From an existential threat to Artsakh to unprovoked military aggression on the peaceful border population in Armenia. Add an unprecedented assault of a vile pandemic called COVID-19, and you can imagine the magnitude and severity of the trials and tribulations our people are undergoing today.

“In the world you will have tribulation” said our Lord and added, “But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Faith will sustain us, and with faith, we have the victory in sight and ‘eyes set on the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’

On the path toward the high calling lies the mission of the AMAA.

A century after the Genocide, our Homeland and surviving communities in the Near East, among other threats, remain under the direct and declared threat of the perpetrator.

With your generous support, we feed the hungry and quench the thirsty; secure our border population; support education and create opportunities for learning. We sponsor children, including those of martyred conscripts, until they are ready and strong to defend the land. We care for orphaned parents and the elderly and help them sustain a decent living. We help move our people from war zones in the world to the security and peace of a Homeland. With indefatigable zeal and determination, we raise the burning torch high on the hill and illuminate the ends of the world.

The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Trials and tribulations, we will have. Together we shall alleviate the consequences, lift up the victims, instill hope, raise the glowing torch of His light high and embrace peace in Him.

Together, we shall overcome the trials and tribulations and let Armenia, the Cradle of Civilization, forever glow, for His light is everlasting.

Thank you for your support of our Mission.

July 23, 2020

---