After Trump Assassination Attempt, Armenian American Clergy Call For Prayer
They closed the letter with the prayer of 12th-century Armenian St. Nerses the Graceful: ‘Christ, guardian of all creatures, let your right hand protect your servant while at home and traveling..’
Armenian American heads of churches wrote a letter to former president Donald Trump on July 16 expressing their prayers for him and the victims of last Saturday’s assassination attempt.
Seven clergy members from the Armenian Catholic Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Evangelical Union of North American, and the Armenian Missionary Association of America signed the letter. Among them was Bishop Mikhael Mouradian, eparch of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in the United States and Canada.
“In these turbulent times, when violence seems to erupt unexpectedly and even in our own beloved country, we the religious leaders of the Armenian American community come together to pray for you and your family,” the leaders wrote. “We are grateful to our sovereign God for showering you with His Mercy at that crucial moment in our history.”
The Armenian Christian leaders extended their prayers to the victims of the assassination attempt and for the nation, saying the next months and years “will not be easy ones for our nation.”
“May the Almighty God keep unshaken the foundations of our nation, built upon those values for which the Founding Fathers of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave Sacrificed their well-being,” they wrote.
The leaders also said they “joyfully respond” to Trump and former first lady Melania Trump’s call for unity, which they said comes about when people see each other as “human beings created in the image and likeness of God.”
Hours after a bullet pierced his right ear, Trump posted on Truth Social explaining the tragic events of Saturday afternoon and calling for Americans to be united.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win,” he wrote.
Trump asked for unity again on the closing night of the Republican National Convention in his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination.
“The discord and division in our society must be healed [and] we must heal it quickly,” he said. “I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.”
Melania Trump also released a statement on the assassination attempt the day after the shooting, calling for Americans to “look beyond the left and right, beyond the red and the blue,” saying that all Americans come from families and desire to fight for better lives.
“This morning, ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence,” her statement said. “We all want a world where respect is paramount, family is first, and love transcends. We can realize this world again. Each of us must demand to get it back. We must insist that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships, again.”
The Armenian bishops and church leaders offered prayers to “the Lord Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace” to strengthen Trump and his family.
They closed the letter with the prayer of 12th-century Armenian St. Nerses the Graceful: “Christ, guardian of all creatures, let your right hand protect your servant while at home and traveling, sleeping and rising that we may never stumble. Have mercy on us, great sinner[s]. Amen.
