PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: +374-10-517 163
Fax: +374-10-517 301
E-Mail: ktrij@etchmiadzin.am
May 14, 2008
Second Message of His Holiness KAREKIN II, Catholicos of All Armenians,
To His Holiness BENEDICT XVI, Pope of the Catholic Church
Vatican City, 09 May 2008
Your Holiness, Dear Brother in Christ,
We express our greetings of brotherly love to Your Holiness, with a
prayerful heart and a joyful soul. United in our joy today are the
clergy and faithful sons and daughters of our Holy Church who have
come together from throughout the world..
We offer gratitude to the Almighty in heaven, as successor to Saints
Thaddeus and Bartholomew, and the saint co-equal to the apostles,
Gregory the Illuminator, that we are enjoying the light of this good
day when we exchange the divinely ordained kiss of peace with Your
Holiness, worthy successor to the See of Saint Peter, seven years
after experiencing the joy of receiving your predecessor of blessed
memory under the gaze of biblical Mount Ararat. It is even more joyous
that this kiss of peace is exchanged on this day, the 9th of May, when
we are celebrating Victory and Peace Day in our homeland – the day
which commemorates the conclusion of World War II – the cause of great
human tragedy and misery; as well as the triumph of our people in the
national liberation struggle for Mountainous Karabagh.
We come from an ancient land, where the first Christian state was born
through the evangelization of the Holy Apostles, and where the faith
was never vanquished. Our people bowed their heads and kneeled down
before the divine love and hope of salvation, and overcame manifold
difficulties and tragedies through the power of the Cross of Jesus
Christ, believing that `¦we suffer with Him, in order that we may also
be glorified with Him.’ Romans 8:17. Truly, our Christian history
itself became like the life of Christ, and its pa are living readings
of the Gospel.
Praise and thanks to God in heaven, that the testimony of fidelity on
the part of our small nation, was crowned with victorious glory and
worthily decorated our lives, making us God’s own people. Our nation
became recipients of the Lord’s grace once again when the flag of
independence was raised over our homeland. Through the light of the
Savior’s resurrected life, our people – in spite of the ongoing
illegal blockade by neighboring countries and countless external and
internal challenges, are living in spiritual renaissance and with
their new hopes of an indivisible life. Today, we have the happy
opportunity to convey to Your Holiness the greetings and best wishes
of the new president of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsian, who
is investing his efforts to deliver the expectations of a better
quality of life for our people, and to lead the country on the
continued path of democracy and development. We also bring with us the
greetings of all our sons and daughters, of a reinvigorated Diaspora,
and of a free and self-determined Republic of Nagorno Karabagh, the
international recognition of which shall be achieved, through the Will
of God and the assistance of humanitarian and righteous governments.
Dear Brother in Christ, through the blessings of our Lord’s
All-Provident Right Hand, we stand alongside one another today, to
strengthen and testify to the fraternal love between our two
Churches. Faithful to the holy Church fathers and their legacy,
despite our differences and unique characteristics, we shall place
greater importance on that which unites us. It is especially pleasing
for us to confirm that the spirit of love and collaboration between
the Armenian and Catholic Churches finds its tangible expressions in
our time, confirming the words of the psalmist: `Behold how good and
pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!’ Psalms
133:1. Expressions of that fraternal and kind attitude can be found
here in the Vatican itself, through the erection of the statue of the
Illuminator of the Armenians – our patron Saint Gregory; and the
naming of the plaza after the great saint, as well as the use of the
Church of San Biagio, a historic site of prayer for Armenian pilgrims,
made available once more to the Armenian community of Rome. We extend
our thanks to you, and through you, to the Catholic Church, for the
courtesies and assistance afforded to the Armenian people.
The love received from our Lord Jesus Christ bears much good fruit in
the field of ecumenism today. We welcome the ongoing dialogue between
the Catholic Church and the family of Ancient Oriental Orthodox
Churches. In our present, fast-paced world where developments and
changes rapidly occur, many environmental, social, political,
economic, and moral issues urgently need attention, especially in the
process of globalization, when true respect for life and man, and love
for God, is diminishing. The greater consolidation of diligent efforts
and partnership are an imperative for Christian Churches, because only
through inclusive cooperation shall we be able to better serve the
establishment of peace in the world and to better defend human rights,
and the rights of nations, families, and those classes of society
which are at-risk. The transfiguration of life through the values of
the Gospel, shall be our path to the creation of a prosperous and
virtuous world.
Dear Brother in Christ, our soul joyfully responds to your call to
action directed to the entire globe during your most recent pontifical
visit, exhorting all who yield power, that instead of confrontation,
violence and war; religions, nations and governments should choose the
paths of dialogue and mutual understanding.
Your vigilance aimed at strengthening Christian understanding,
knowledge and instruction is dear to our hearts, as is your attentive
care for educational institutions, so that the new generation of young
men and women bear witness to our Lord Jesus Christ and Christian
truths with a renewed spirit – through their actions, their deeds and
their very lives. The plans and efforts of our Church are aimed at
this same goal, where Your Holiness continues to support us,
especially in the sphere of the preparation of clergymen. The spirit
of fraternal love between the Armenian and Catholic Churches, and the
results which we see today, encourage us to make our consolidated
efforts more productive, for the sake of our one mission, whose guide
and leader is Christ our Lord.
It is with this optimism that we greet all servants and laity of the
Catholic Church and bring our commendation and blessings to Vatican
State Secretary, His Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone; to His
Eminence Walter Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council
for Promoting Christian Unity; to your nuncio in the Southern
Caucasus, His Excellency Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, and to all
those individuals through whose tireless efforts, bilateral relations
between our two Churches and states continue to develop and progress
with growing understanding and reciprocal respect.
As we conclude our remarks, we extend to Your Holiness our invitation
and the invitation of the President of the Republic of Armenia, to
visit Armenia and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. We and all of
our faithful people will always be happy to receive you in the
spiritual center of all Armenians, where we shall offer our united
prayers to our Lord heaven under the sacred arches of the Cathedral
where Christ Himself descended.
We pray that Almighty God grant many years of unshaken pontifical
reign to Your Holiness, to make manifest all your visions and
aspirations for the vibrancy of the Catholic Church and her faithful
sons and daughters.
We pray for our Lord Jesus Christ to keep and protect the entire world
under His benevolent and watchful gaze, in love, solidarity, harmony
and peace for His glory and for the welfare of mankind.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us and with all, now and
always. Amen.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress