The twelfth and final day of the Armenian Lacrosse and Daily Bible Readings journey brought Coach Johnny Mouradian to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the most sacred places in the Christian world.
For nearly seventeen centuries, Holy Etchmiadzin has stood as the heart of Armenian Christianity. According to tradition, Christ appeared in a vision to Saint Gregory the Illuminator, indicating where the first Armenian cathedral should be built after Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301 A.D. Since then, Etchmiadzin has remained a place of worship, pilgrimage, theological learning, and spiritual leadership for Armenians across the world.
It is a fitting place to conclude a journey that has traced Armenia’s Christian heritage from museums and memorials to monasteries, churches, and communities across the country.
Standing before the Mother Cathedral, Coach Mouradian reflected on a passage from Galatians 4:1-5.
“My point is this: as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.”
Paul continues:
“In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” (Galatians 4:1-4)
Paul’s message centers on God’s perfect timing.
Throughout the Old Testament, generations waited for the promised Messiah. Prophets spoke of His coming. Israel anticipated His arrival. Then, in what Paul describes as “the fullness of time,” God fulfilled His promise by sending His Son into the world.
The coming of Christ was neither accidental nor delayed. It unfolded according to God’s plan.
That truth offers encouragement for every believer.
Faith often requires patience. We pray before we see answers. We trust before we understand the outcome. Yet Scripture reminds us that God’s purposes unfold according to His timing, even when we cannot immediately see where He is leading.
There is perhaps no better place in Armenia to reflect on that promise than Holy Etchmiadzin.
For more than 1,700 years, this cathedral has witnessed the unfolding of Armenia’s Christian story. Kings, clergy, scholars, pilgrims, and families have all passed through its gates. Empires have risen and fallen. Borders have changed.
Generations have come and gone.
Etchmiadzin has remained.
Its enduring presence reflects a faith that has been preserved not for decades, but for centuries. It reminds visitors that Christianity in Armenia is not simply part of the nation’s history. It continues to shape its present and its future.
Looking back over the past twelve days, the journey has traveled from the History Museum of Armenia to the Matenadaran, Tsitsernakaberd, Gyumri, Khor Virap, Oshakan, Vayk, Geghard, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, the Mount Hatis monument workshop, Akhtala Monastery, and now Holy Etchmiadzin.
Each destination revealed a different chapter of Armenia’s story.
Together, they tell one larger story: a nation whose faith has endured through centuries of challenge because generation after generation chose to preserve it, live it, and pass it on.
Coach Mouradian’s reflections throughout this road trip have carried a consistent message. Scripture is not confined to the pages of a book or the walls of a church. It speaks into history, communities, families, and everyday life. It calls believers not only to remember their faith, but to live it.
As the Armenian Lacrosse and Daily Bible Readings journey comes to its conclusion, the final stop at Holy Etchmiadzin serves as a reminder that every pilgrimage eventually leads home. For Armenians, there are few places that embody that sense of home more profoundly than the Mother See, where centuries of faith continue to unite
