A Reflection in Light of The Church : Towards a Common Vision—

A Reflection in Light of The Church: Towards a Common Vision— Primate’s Banquet Speech His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian (bio) Keywords Church, common vision, unity of the Spirit, Southern California I extend my warmest greetings to all participants of the joint conference organized by the North American Academy of Ecumenists and the Southern California Ecumenical Council’s Faith and Order Commission. By the grace of Almighty God, you have gathered at the Headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Western Diocese to be in a fellowship that aims to see the church’s start toward a common mission. For four decades, I have been actively involved in ecumenical life, mostly in the United Kingdom during my academic years at the University of Oxford, later as pastor and spiritual leader of the Armenian Church in Canada, and presently in the United States, at the Western Diocese. I continue to cherish the same ecumenical spirit with the same conviction and the vision that it is only through mutual understanding, respectable dialogue, and true Christian love that churches can grow as one body. The Church: Towards a Common Vision has been a relevant topic in all ages. As we learn the history of the world and Christianity, we see that throughout the centuries the church has been challenged not only to fulfill and realize a common vision but also to address layers of new issues that threaten the foundations of Christianity. In the deeply spiritual, extremely moving, and tremendously challenging seventeenth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, we discover the true essence of our common vision, which is the unity of Christ’s body, the church. In his prayer, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ says, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be [End Page 286] one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn. 17:20–21, N.I.V.). Indeed, Christianity is not merely a philosophy. Christianity is a way of life, which became the calling and the vocation of the Fathers of the church, who gave their lives as martyrs with the vision and understanding that the incarnation of Christ has paved the way for us all collectively to find our way to the heavenly Father. Christ came to this world to change lives. He transfigured in order that we may transfigure our spirituality, to become not just believers but also doers. Thus, we cannot separate preaching from practice. Preaching the Word of God should be deeply rooted in our daily actions and reflected in our relationship with our faithful people, through our unconditional love, care, and compassion for our brothers and sisters. It is not permissible for a Christian to say, “I can pray for you, but not with you.” I urge all of us to be more united in our efforts to fight against all challenges that describe the Christian faith as a dysfunctional religion. It is important to seek the reasons as to why the Christian religion is being uprooted in the communities in which we live. Personal witnessing is important in our communal life of faith. If we are not able to make our lives the reflection of Christ’s love, if we are not able to create a Christian community, if we are not able to pursue Christian morals, if we are not able to become the torchbearers of our forebearers’ faith and be the witnesses of Christ’s life— then Christianity becomes solely a movement, and the community is deprived of a strong sense of commitment. Christian unity is achieved when we walk with Christ and become partakers in his sufferings and, ultimately, in his blessed Resurrection. Those who live with Christ and in Christ can certainly be the uniting spiritual strength and the force to expedite the unity of the Christian church. Thus, let us “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as [we] were called to one...

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