HIS HOLINESS ARAM I LEADS BRANCH OF CHURCH

The Toronto Star
October 5, 2005 Wednesday

His Holiness Aram I, of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, is the
Catholicos of the See of Cilicia, which is based in Lebanon. Aram I
arrived in Toronto Friday for a six-day visit.

The See of Cilicia was established in Lebanon after the Armenian
genocide in the early 20th Century. For historical and political
reasons, this branch developed into an independent institution
operating separately from the Armenian-based church, whose
administrative and spiritual headquarters has always been the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Armenia. His Holiness Karekin II, whose
title is Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, leads
that church. Both have operations worldwide – generally linked to
the diaspora of one See or the other. The Canadian diocese for the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is in Montreal. A story published last
Thursday did not explain the divide. As a result, the role of Aram
I was unclear. Clarification