by – Glen Palaca Hubahib, Esq.
Christianity:
Growing up, my dominant religious thoughts and beliefs came from the Old and New Testament of the Bible and the teachings of St. Paul from the catholic schools and the regular Sunday service. I started to read how Christianity started as a persecuted sect until it became to be the dominant religion of the present day.
Khor Virap Monastery on the foreground with Mt. Ararat on the background. Source – GetyourGuide.com
Recently, I learned that Armenia was the first State to adopt Christianity as a State religion in 301 A.D. Rome adopted Christianity as a state religion in 380 A.D. Legend has it that St. Gregory the Illuminator healed the Armenian King Tirritades III of illness and the latter converted to Christianity. Prior to that, St. Gregory was imprisoned in the Khor Virap dungeon for preaching Christianity for 13 years. Now, the place is a tourist destination, and you can see the snow caped Mount Ararat on a sunny day. The mountain is believed to be the site where Noah’s Ark landed after the great flood water subsided. It is now part of modern day Turkiye.
Neighboring Georgia was the third to adopt Christianity as a State religion in 326 A.D after Ethiopia. It follows the Eastern Orthodox church’s tradition while Armenia follows the Oriental Orthodox church tradition. The difference? Eastern Orthodoxy believes that Jesus Christ possesses two distinct but inseparable natures: one fully divine and one fully human (Dyophysite). While Oriental Orthodoxy believes that Jesus Christ possesses a single, unified nature, where both full divinity and full humanity are inseparably united without mixture,
14th Century Gergeti Trinity Church and greater Caucasus in the background, Stepantsminda, Georgia. Source – r/interestingasfuck @ reddit.com
confusion, or alteration (Myaphysite). The debate and difference of the nature of Christ precipitated the schism of the Christian churches after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. The Eastern Orthodox and the Catholics were Dyophysites while the Oriental Orthodoxy were Myaphysites.
The Eastern Orthodox and Catholics separated in the Great Schism 1054 after a series of ecclesiastical differences, theological disputes and geopolitical tensions between Byzantium (Constantinople) and Rome. In the present day, the churches hold dialogues to repair and mend relationships.
Modesty:
In our flight from Istanbul, Turkiye to Yerevan, Armenia, seated adjacent from us in the first row of the economy section were two unassuming ladies. They were the last to board on that Airbus 321 Neo, Turkish Airlines flight. I thought the younger lady was accompanying her mom.
When we disembark, the two were greeted, handed bouquets of flowers and interviewed by the media waiting outside the tube. I was intrigued, so I did some investigation and found out that Armenia was hosting 8th European Political Summit and found the two ladies’ identities from the attendees’ pictures. Both were Presidents in their home country of Moldova and North Macedonia with no hangers on, no frills and just like regular commuters. While the Philippine Constitution and laws require our official to be modest, however we often witness the display of power and flaunting of riches of majority of our officials. We have not solved this kind of character of our officials. Hence, our current predicament.[Note: Glen Palaca Hubahib is admitted to practice law in California and the Philippines. He also holds an Electrical Engineering and MBA degrees. He is a regular resource person of the top rated “Open Forum” program of Ardy Araneta-Batoy & Gloria Leodivica Araneta at station DYTR. The article is for information only and is not legal advice. Send your comments to the author at hubahibg@gmail.com.