The Armenian Church in the Whirlwind of the May Heroic Battles

From January 28, 1918, the Turkish army launched a large-scale offensive and appeared in the Ararat Valley on May 21. The leadership of the newly formed Armenian state, influenced by the chain of concessions, suggested to Catholicos Gevorg Surenyants that he leave Holy Etchmiadzin, because in a few days it would be captured. The Catholicos did not agree and sent celibate clergy to the front, led by the prominent scholar Bishop Garegin Hovsepyans. The bells of all churches rang with the call to wake up, and a psychological breakthrough began that overwhelmed the military-political leadership. The victorious heroic battles of Sardarapat and Aparan took place, thanks to which the Armenians were not only saved from final destruction, but also the modern Armenian statehood in the form of a republic was created.