Current News

08 September 2011

What follows is a message from Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Ten Years After Sept. 11, 2001

On Sunday, September 11, 2011, the faithful of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America are joining our voices with millions of our fellow Americans—and with people around the world—to offer prayers on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America.

Like so many others, with the approach of this milestone I have tried to recollect what it was like on that day a full decade ago. Americans of our generation have taken to greeting every 11th of September in the same way—and I imagine we will continue doing so for the remainder of our lives.

I vividly recall the spontaneous gathering in the sanctuary of St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York City, on the afternoon of September 11, 2001.  I recall looking out from the altar, and seeing all manner of people: familiar faces alongside new ones from off the street. A number of people had narrowly escaped the disaster zone, and bore traces of dust and debris from the collapsing Twin Towers. They had instinctively come to a place of peace and prayer, like so many others in that great march northward through the city, which choked the streets around us with the refugees from southern Manhattan.

Although we did not know it at the time, three hours earlier, in the very midst of the terrorist attacks, others had followed the same instinct. On Flight 93, a young man facing what he knew to be the final minutes of his life, spoke on a cell-phone to a telephone operator he had never met. He asked her to pray with him, and together they recited the 23rd Psalm. Having uttered these words, Todd Beamer and the brave passengers on the doomed Flight 93 proceeded to take the plane back from the hijackers, de-railing the terrorists' plan, at the cost of their own lives.

This was only one of the many stories—heart-breaking and inspiring at the same time—which we learned in the aftermath of 9/11. Ten years later, those stories have become a part of our national culture: a part of America's own story. Perhaps for that reason, the personal, human toll of that day has receded into the background: a part of history we all share, but take for granted.

But on this solemn, milestone anniversary let us promise never to forget these stories, or the people who lived them. Let us never forget the families of those who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks—among them, people from our own community. Our thoughts are with them, as with all who have suffered and sacrificed in the long aftermath of that day.

Let us vow that their examples, their sacrifices, have not been made in vain; that each of us, to the best of our ability, will continue the struggle to preserve freedom, justice, and true peace against those who do not hold life sacred. And we pray too that—should we ever face our own fateful hour—God will summon from us the same courage He drew from our lost countrymen, on that terrible day ten years ago.

Above all, as I search these ten-year-old memories, the words of the 23rd Psalm impress themselves upon me, as they did so powerfully on that day:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
He leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil; for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23)

May we all likewise dwell in our Lord's house, now and always. May He keep watch over the souls He drew to His kingdom on 9/11, and bestow His peace on their loved ones. May He grant guidance to our leaders, and strengthen the resolve of those who stand in defense of our country. And may He always shed His shining grace on the United States of America.