Yesterday, we traveled into the historic region of Cilicia, once a great center of Armenian faith and life. We visited Kozan, Anavarza, ancient Sis—the former capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and, for centuries, the seat of the Armenian Catholicosate. Kings once ruled here. Catholicoi prayed here. Churches, monasteries, and schools formed generations in the Christian faith. Although much of that visible world has disappeared, its spiritual voice has never fallen sil

Last Tuesday, as we ended our visit to the ancient city of Ani and turned back toward its weathered walls, something among the dust and scattered stones caught my eye. It was the Armenian letter Է—Eh. I picked it up and held it before our pilgrims. Somehow, finding that seventh letter among the ruins of Ani felt like more than a coincidence. It felt like a quiet message. Է is the seventh letter of the Armenian alphabet. In Scripture, seven is often the number of fullness and

Today, as we entered St. Giragos Armenian Church in Diyarbakir, I was struck by the vastness of its sanctuary. It is considered the largest Armenian church in the Middle East. Our guide told us that in the early 1880s, a fire swept through the sanctuary and left it in ruins. After losing so much, the community had every reason to rebuild something smaller. A modest chapel would have been understandable. They chose otherwise, and by 1883, St. Giragos had risen again—larger tha