Page 198 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

People's Church 199

nor water nor any kind of cruel torture… For we
recognize the Holy Gospel as our Father, and the
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apostolic catholic Church as Mother." Religion
and nation, piety and patriotism remained
inseparably intertwined in Armenian Chris-
tianity in all times, in all places, and under all
circumstances. The Christian faith is the esse
of the self-perception of an Armenian, and,
as the poets describe, the Church is the
'birthplace' of the Armenian, the 'fortress' of
his or her faith, 'the hope' of his or her
survival, and the 'arc of salvation' against the
evils of the world. Church and nation are
fused into one entity. The Church belongs to
the nation and the nation belongs to the
Church. This mutual belonging is so deeply
rooted in the consciousness and existential
life of the people and so imbued with histo-
rical experience that it is simply impossible
to draw a line of demarcation between the
two. It is important to underscore that the
indigenization of Christianity did not isolate
the Armenians from the outside world. With
its new values and worldwide perspectives,
Christianity opened new avenues and hori-
zons before the Armenian people, engaging
them in creative interplay and dialogical
interaction with other cultures, nations, and
contexts.