RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
MISSION OF THE ARMENIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
ACCORDING TO THE TEACHING OF ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR
To illumine all people who come into the world;
To give repentance of salvation to all;
To wash all people and deliver them from the bonds of darkness by baptism;
To seal all nations as Christ’s inner circle;
To make the Spirit of God dwell in people’s hearts;
To unite and join them to the love of the Son of God, that the heart of all might cry as one, and to unite all the world in saying: “Abba, Father,” so that the name of enslavement might be taken away, and the name of adoption be placed on them by the grace of Christ;[1]
To enable them to eat the flesh of the Son of God and drink the life-giving blood,[2] so that thereby they might bring all the world into the inheritance of Christ, to become “heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ.”[3]
[1]Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6-7.
[2]John 6:54
[3]Romans 8:17.
*Taken from The Teaching of Saint Gregory, ed. Robert W. Thomson, AVANT: Treasures of the Armenian Christian Tradition 1 (New Rochelle, NY: St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, 2001) 223-224.
MISSION STATEMENT OF OUR EASTERN DIOCESE
The mission of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church is to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and to proclaim its message of salvation. This mission is realized through worship, education, witness, service, and the common life in Christ as expressed in the distinctive faith-experience of the Armenian people. All members of the Armenian Church—both clergy and lay—are called to participate fully in its mission.
PARISH MISSION AND VALUES STATEMENT
St. James of Richmond brings together the faithful of Central Virginia to glorify Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in the Armenian Apostolic tradition. This mission is fulfilled by welcoming God's people with warm hospitality; by drawing strength from our diverse backgrounds; by sowing seeds for continued growth and ever-increasing faith; and by participating actively in worship, education, service, cultural enrichment and fellowship.
St. James Armenian Church - 834 Pepper Ave., Richmond, VA , 23226