The word ecumenism is derived from the Greek words (οἰκουμένη) Oikoumene (“the inhabited world”) and oikos (“house”) and can be traced from the commands, promises, and prayers of Jesus Christ.
The 11th Annual Ecumenical Prayer Service was held at St. Leon Armenian Cathedral on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, at 7 pm. During this year’s service, the faithful community of the Assyrian Church of the East led by their pastor Cor-Bishop Fr. George Bet-Rasho, were honored.
In his welcoming remarks, Archbishop Derderian reflected on the significance of prayer in the life of Christians, stating “St. Gregory of Nyssa has conveyed to the faithful of the Church a simple yet a meaningful and uplifting message about the power of prayer: ‘Prayer heals relations.’ God our Lord calls upon us all to be the apostles and ambassadors of peace and thus to transform the world.
Therefore, it is enough to have only a drop of prayer in our daily life, and the journey of our day will be a luminous one. In prayer, we secure the companionship with Christ, embarking on the path of life which was graced upon us by our Lord.”
As a token of his gratitude, Archbishop Derderian presented an Armenian cross-stone, a khatchkar in honor of the Assyrian Church of the East acknowledging acknowledge with immense gratitude their love and dedication who a year ago during the 44-day Artsakh War prayed with us both in Armenia and in the United States of America and provided substantial financial support in the form of humanitarian aid of which was delivered to families in Armenia and Artsakh impacted by the war.
