Bishop Hovakim Preaches on the Voice of the Good Shepherd at St Yeghiche

London, 10 May 2026 — Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland, preached at St Yeghiche Armenian Church in London on Sunday, 10 May, the Sixth Sunday of Easter.

Reflecting on the Gospel image of Christ as the Good Shepherd and the Door of the sheepfold, Bishop Hovakim invited the faithful to discern the voice of Christ amid the many competing voices of the modern world.

“We live in a world full of voices: voices of politics, ideology, anger, fear and endless distraction,” he said. “Yet Christ asks us one essential question: can we still recognise His voice?”

The Bishop warned against spiritual blindness and pride, drawing on the Gospel of John, the writings of C.S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Dostoevsky. He reminded the congregation that pride can prevent the soul from hearing God, while humility, prayer, and repentance open the heart to the Shepherd’s call.

Speaking to the Armenian Christian experience, Bishop Hovakim said that throughout centuries of suffering, exile, and persecution, the Armenian people survived by listening to the voice of Christ heard through the Church, especially through the witness of Holy Etchmiadzin.

“The voice of Christ always leads towards truth, peace, repentance, and life,” he said.

The sermon concluded with a prayer that the faithful may receive spiritual sight, discernment, humility, and courage to follow Christ, the true Shepherd and Door of Life.