Dear brothers and sisters in Lebanon, Armenia, Europe, America and the four corners of the globe,

The year of 2005 is ending and a new year is beginning. The passage to the New Year reminds us of the important events of the past year, joyful and sad, and inspires hope for the coming year, so that it is less painful, and it brings with it success and happy events.

The new agenda of 2006 is on our table already, with its white pages. It is up to us to fill them out with our new plans and good dispositions. In order to accomplish this, we most certainly have to take a look at last year's peripeteia, at our meetings and work, at our held ceremonies and our wishes that left with deceit. But where do we start from?

First of all, as Armenians, we are Christians and posses a rich spiritual and cultural legacy. An Armenian is God-fearing and in spite of the fact of his human weaknesses and the rigorous conditions of history, he/she has been attached to Christ and the Holy Bible, for the cause of which our ancestors gave their supreme testimony 90 years ago. Therefore, let us fix our eyes upon God and let us thank Him for all the blessings He has given us every day of the past year and for all the evil He has kept away from us.

A few days ago we celebrated the joyful and blessed Birth of Christ. God wanted to be so close to us that he became a child. It is up to us to accept Him in our hearts and our lives.

Baby Jesus holds "the King of peace" and "the Savior of the world" as titles, which used to be specific for the emperor of Rome who, alone, had the ability to establish peace on earth and ameliorate people's lives. Jesus is more powerful than all the emperors and the kingdoms of the world. The latter come, pass, die and are forgotten, Jesus Christ is and will always be with us for eternity.

If that is the case, we cannot welcome the New Year without taking into consideration the presence of Jesus, Who is not only capable but also wants to offer us a new hope so that we are not submitted to the past year's different sad events, rather so that we welcome the events concerning family and friends as well as the sudden changes in situations in the world with a fresh look and new perspectives. Without Christ, the human mind and abilities and the modern inventions cannot enlighten our paths and bring solutions to our daily problems, as the experience of life does and teaches us.

We are searching for a peaceful life, a safe future, familial and public warmth. Those who search in the wrong place are like the man who wants to be cured of his disease but is taking the wrong medication; he will stay ill, become hopeless and sad and will create a dark atmosphere around him. While whoever takes the right medication will be cured and life will smile at him; he not only will be in a good mood but will try to lighten the load of others and ease their pain. He will try to be of use to others, especially to the poor, the ill and the lonely. He will spread hope and joy everywhere.

Therefore, there are two types of men: those who have found the right path, and those who have been deceived and follow the wrong path. With the arrival of the New Year, it is up to you to decide. If you trust in Jesus and His Bible, walk His path, as did your ancestors and your life will change and take a new meaning. If not, you will have the same life you did last year, full of uncertainty.

Dear brothers and sisters,

We, our family, our society and the whole world desire peace more than anything else. Whoever does not have a peace of heart cannot pass it on to someone else. In order to have peace, first of all reach your hand to the King of peace, Baby Jesus. "Jesus takes nothing from you, but only gives to you" says the Pope Benedict XVI. Therefore open your heart widely to Him, do not be afraid of Him, get close to Him and trust Him. The power of the light of His hope that is endued with life will be your backbone, to reconstruct a new orderly state in your surrounding, one based on right moral and just economic principles. Be a spreader of peace.

Let the love of Jesus guide our families and all people. Let the heads and leaders of the countries form a human family and create trust and mutual helpfulness. A unified humanity alone can confront the present serious problems, from the threats of terrorism to poverty, which includes millions of homeless people, as well as from the rapid expansion of guns to the epidemic illnesses.

Let Jesus, who incarnated and became one of us, be a tutor to you and to all men with good will.
Let His love conquer all homicide wars.
Let His light illuminate the path of everyone.
Let people advance with His wisdom and not with human wisdom.

Dialog among different or opposite sides is the best way to know and understand each other, and to cooperate with each other. Dialog protects us, turns strangers into friends and opens the door to work together and to fight against all evil. The road to peace is dialog, which helps create a more favorable world.

I deeply advise you, all who have a good will and all believers to, on the occasion of the 90th commemoration of the Armenian genocide, follow the example of the incarnated Jesus and reach a new state in this New Year, making it different than the previous ones and more peaceful, more enlightened, more hopeful and with more love for everyone.

Let God Almighty cast away the dark clouds that are upon Lebanon and the Middle East, give total peace, keep the free Armenia firm, and strengthen the continuous victorious existence of the Armenians.

Happy New Year to all.