“There is a passage in the Gospel about the widow’s offering. As Christ was watching those approaching the treasury in the temple, he saw a woman who had made a contribution using all the money she had. He called his disciples and said, ‘This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything- all she had to live on.’” March 30th was the birthday of Hrant Chilingaryan, a fallen hero from the recent war. The priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church did not accidentally remember this Bible story as he pointed to Hrant’s parents. “You gave up your most precious thing; you gave everything you had.”
Hrant was his parents’ only child. He did not return from the war. He would have turned 20 on March 20th. His relatives, friends, and neighbors gathered at the hero’s house on his birthday to taste the delicious foods of professional chef Hrant and enjoy his presence, but the war stopped all of that. Instead, everyone gathered outside the building and participated in the opening of a fountain in honor of him. Starting with his first teacher, everyone remembered what kind of person Hrant was, how honest and direct he was, and how big his loss was. But his parents’ pain was indescribable. His mother, with her head turned, was listening to the priest with tears in her eyes. His father would hug boys Hrant’s age, lean on their shoulders, and cry.
“Our home’s only light and hope. I have nothing left. My doors and windows have closed. Even if the stars came down from the sky, I don’t need anything else. I needed my only son, but he’s not here. I don’t want anything else. I just want to be with my child,” Hrant’s mother, Nvard Chilingaryan, said.
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She said that before going to war, her son warned his father, ‘“Dad, look after Mom, don’t let her think and worry too much.’ He said, ‘Mom, everything is going to be fine, don’t worry, you need to be well so that I can come back and see you.’ He said, ‘you’re sick, if I come back and see that you’re gone, how much is my life worth?’ Now, how much is my life worth since he’s gone… Our Hrant was very optimistic. He always wanted to move forward, and he never looked back. Even during the war. He would always say that we won. He never was depressed. He always spoke in an excited voice, saying, ‘Mom, good morning, my treasure, how are you?’ It seemed like my child didn’t even call from the battlefield. But his last call made me feel hopeless. He didn’t say hello or good morning. He just said that he might not call for a few days because the connection is poor. Then, I learned that their positions were captured, and my child died a few hours later. The volunteers with him told me that of the 52-person unit, 10 were wounded, and 42 died.”
His parents said that when their son served at the base in Gyumri, the Russian base needed a chef, so they offered that he stay. But he refused. His friends in Artsakh said that he was unable to leave them. “He served in Talish, but he died in Mataghis. When we saw that we didn’t get information from anywhere, we couldn’t even get information from the ministry or commissariat. So, we were forced to go to the Red Cross. They told us to give a DNA test on November 4th. Eight days later, we received a negative response, and we were happy because we thought that it wasn’t our son. However, his bones were burned, so they couldn’t get a sample. They took another analysis, and five days later, we got the ‘positive’ result.”
Hrant’s friends and relatives were hugging his parents, unable to find words to comfort them. According to the priest, “Even if we were to give them all the world’s treasures, we cannot bring back their sacrifice. No matter what we give you, we cannot comfort the grief you have. But there is a saying in the Bible that there is no greater love than laying one’s life for one’s friends. The greatest demonstration of love is selfless love. And there is no greater sacrifice for a parent than giving their child for the homeland and faith.”
Hripsime Jebejyan
