PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Father Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: cathcil@cathcil.org
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

THE SPIRITUAL HEADS OF THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES
IN THE MIDDLE EAST MEET IN EGYPT

Two of the three Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East
met in the Coptic Patriarchate in Cairo on November 22-24. The summit
brought together Patriarchs Shnouda III, the Head of the Syrian Orthodox
church and Zakka Iwas I, the Head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia was obliged to cancel his
scheduled trip to Egypt following the assassination of the Industry Minister
in Lebanon. However, the Coptic and Syrian Patriarchs remained in constant
contact with His Holiness Aram I throughout the summit, consulting him on
various issues related to the agenda.

A meeting of a special committee assigned by the spiritual leaders preceded
the summit. The committee, which included Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian and
Bishop Nareg Alemezian from the Armenian Church (Catholicosate of Cilicia),
discussed the cooperation between the three churches during the past year in
the spiritual, educational, publishing and other fields.

The committee then presented its conclusions to the spiritual leaders
seeking their agreement and blessings.

The Patriarchs first condemned the anti-canonical self-proclamation of an
individual in the Coptic Church to the rank of a Bishop and the resulting
cleavages in the life of the Church. They examined several important issues
related to the Middle East Council of Churches. Finally, they emphasized the
necessity of strengthening the cooperation between the primates and
communities of the three Orthodox Churches in various countries.

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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.