Catholic News Agency, CO
May 6 2008
Armenian prelate begins visit to Rome
Vatican, May. 6, 2008 (CWNews.com) – The head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, arrives in Rome today for a
visit that will continue through May 9.
The Armenian patriarch– who will be accompanied by 18 bishops and 75
members of the Armenian laity– will be formally greeted by Pope
Benedict XVI (bio – news) at the regular Wednesday papal audience on
May 7. Catholicos Karekin will meet privately with the Pontiff on
Friday, May 9.
During his stay in Rome the Armenian patriarch will pray at the statue
of St. Gregory the Illuminator in the patio of the Vatican
basilica. (St. Gregory brought the Christian faith to Armenia and is
the patron saint of the Armenian Church.) He will receive an honorary
doctorate from the Pontifical Salesian University, visit the
Pontifical Armenian College, and participate in a conference at the
Pontifical Oriental Institute on "holy sacrifice in the Armenian
tradition."
Ecumenical ties between the Holy See and the Armenian Apostolic Church
have been extremely close since 1996, when Pope John Paul II (bio –
news) and Catholicos Karekin I, the predecessor to the current
Armenian patriarch, signed a joint statement effectively ending the
theological dispute that had divided the two churches for 15
centuries. Just before the death of Karekin I, Pope John Paul II wrote
to the ailing Armenian prelate, promising his continued efforts to
bring about "re-establishment of full communion" between the Armenian
Apostolic Church and the Holy See.
When Karekin II was elected in 1999 to head the Armenian Church, he
promptly pledged his own efforts to pursue reunion with Rome. During a
visit to Rome in 2000 he signed another joint statement with Pope John
Paul, affirming that the doctrines of the two churches are
"complimentary rather than in opposition."
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
