From: Catholicosate of Cilicia <info@armenianorthodoxchurch.org>
Subject: ANTELIAS: Addresses of Pope Benedict XVI and Catholicos Aram I
PRESS RELEASE
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Armenian version: nian.htm
THE ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
Your Holiness,
With heartfelt affection in the Lord I greet you and the distinguished
members of your delegation on the occasion of your visit to the Church of
Rome. Our meeting today stands in continuity with the visit which you made
to my beloved predecessor Pope John Paul II in January 1997, and with the
many other contacts and mutual visits which, by God’s grace, have led in
recent years to closer relations between the Catholic Church and the
Armenian Apostolic Church.
In this year of Saint Paul, you will visit the tomb of the Apostle of the
Nations and pray with the monastic community at the basilica erected to his
memory. In that prayer, you will be united to the great host of Armenian
saints and martyrs, teachers and theologians, whose legacy of learning,
holiness and missionary achievements are part of the patrimony of the whole
Church. We think of Saint Nerses Shnorhali and Saint Nerses of Lambron who,
as Bishop of Tarsus, was known as "the second Paul of Tarsus". That
testimony culminated in the twentieth century, which proved a time of
unspeakable suffering for your people. The faith and devotion of the
Armenian people have been constantly sustained by the memory of the many
martyrs who have borne witness to the Gospel down the centuries. May the
grace of that witness continue to shape the culture of your nation and
inspire in Christ’s followers an ever greater trust in the saving and
life-giving power of the Cross.
The See of Cilicia has long been involved in encouraging positive ecumenical
contacts between the Churches. Indeed, the dialogue between the Oriental
Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church has benefited significantly from
the presence of its Armenian delegates. We must be hopeful that this
dialogue will continue to move forward, since it promises to clarify
theological issues which have divided us in the past but now appear open to
greater consensus. I am confident that the current work of the International
Commission – devoted to the theme: "The Nature, Constitution and Mission of
the Church" – will enable many of the specific issues of our theological
dialogue to find their proper context and resolution.
Surely the growth in understanding, respect and cooperation which has
emerged from ecumenical dialogue promises much for the proclamation of the
Gospel in our time. Throughout the world Armenians live side by side with
the faithful of the Catholic Church. An increased understanding and
appreciation of the apostolic tradition which we share will contribute to an
ever more effective common witness to the spiritual and moral values without
which a truly just and humane social order cannot exist. For this reason, I
trust that new and practical means will be found to give expression to the
common declarations we have already signed.
Your Holiness, I cannot fail to assure you of my daily prayers and deep
concern for the people of Lebanon and the Middle East. How can we not be
grieved by the tensions and conflicts which continue to frustrate all
efforts to foster reconciliation and peace at every level of civil and
political life in the region? Most recently we have all been saddened by the
escalation of persecution and violence against Christians in parts of the
Middle East and elsewhere. Only when the countries involved can determine
their own destiny, and the various ethnic groups and religious communities
accept and respect each other fully, will peace be built on the solid
foundations of solidarity, justice and respect for the legitimate rights of
individuals and peoples.
With these sentiments and with affection in the Lord, I thank Your Holiness
for your visit, and I express my hope that these days spent in Rome will be
a source of many graces for you and for all those entrusted to your pastoral
care. Upon you and to all the faithful of the Armenian Apostolic Church I
invoke an abundance of joy and peace in the Lord.
##
THE ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS ARAM I, CATHOLICOS OF CILICIA
DURING HIS PUBLIC MEETING WITH HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
ON 24 NOVEMBER 2008, THE VATICAN CITY
It gives me a profound spiritual joy to greet Your Holiness in the spirit of
Christian love and with the commitment to the visible unity of the church,
which Your predecessor His Holiness Pope Jean Paul II of blessed memory and
we greeted each other in 1997. In the Common Declaration that we signed we
said that "our meeting has offered a privileged opportunity to pray and
reflect together, and to renew our commitment and common efforts to the
unity of Christians".
Renewed and strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit, we continued the
ecumenical journey of our predecessors. We firmly believe that this is the
only way, sustained by our Lord’s commandment of love and unity, that shall
lead us to a common mission in a world in dire need of the life-giving
message of the Gospel. In fact, the deep involvement of the Armenian Church,
together with the other churches of the Oriental Orthodox family, in the
bilateral theological dialogue with the Catholic Church, our active
participation in major ecumenical initiatives of the Catholic Church on the
global level, as well as our close collaboration through ecumenical
structures and joint ventures, on local and regional levels, are tangible
and eloquent expressions of our Church’s firm conviction that ecumenism is
crucial for the life and mission of the churches in the world today.
Your Holiness, the ecumenical relations and collaboration of our two
Churches are deeply rooted in our respective histories. In fact, due to
geo-political circumstances, when the Armenians were obliged to leave
Armenia and establish their national and political life in Cilicia in the
10th century by creating the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, the Armenian
Church, too, moved its administrative center, the Catholicosate, from
Armenia to Cilicia. This new environment, with its multi-religious,
multi-confessional and multi-ethnic character, engaged the Armenians in a
creative and dynamic interaction with the Latin and Byzantine Churches.
Fraternal meetings, exchanges of letters, formal visits and ecumenical
encounters have marked the long history of our relations.
The world of today, with its complexities, polarisations and uncertainties,
challenges our Churches to deepen and broaden our ecumenical collaboration
and theological dialogue, aimed at the visible unity of the church. In spite
of the considerable advances in ecumenical growth and multilateral and
bilateral theological dialogues, world Christendom remains divided. We
believe that a divided church cannot credibly and effectively take the
Gospel to the world. The united voice and the common witness of the churches
in a polarized world is the call of Christ, which is more imperative and
urgent today than ever before.
The world of today, with its corrupted values, reminds us of the vital
importance of healing and transformation. Our Churches should not remain
indifferent to the growing decay of ethical and spiritual values, nor to
the marginalization of Christian traditions and the distortion of Christian
identity. Uncritical openness of our communities to the "new values" of
globalization and secularism need to be tested by the Gospel values that
give quality and meaning to Christian life and ensure its integrity and
identity.
The world of today, with its dire need for justice and reconciliation, urges
our Churches to become the true messengers of peace by promoting human
rights, working for justice for those who are denied justice, and seeking
peace and reconciliation in situations of tension and conflict. These
imperatives form an integral part of Christian witness and diakonia. In this
context the churches, the religions and states must recognize all genocides,
including the Armenian Genocide, and must endeavour to prevent new genocides
by affirming the rights of all people for dignity, freedom and
self-determination. This is crucial for a peaceful world.
The world of today, with its growing pluralism, manifested in all spheres
and aspects of society life, calls our Churches to involve themselves in a
responsible inter-faith dialogue. We are living in a globalized world
characterized by interdependence and interaction. We must become part of
the dialogue that preserves and articulates the integrity and uniqueness of
Christian faith and opens God’s revelation, enfolded in the Bible and the
Tradition, to other religions, while at the same time, respecting their
traditions and values. Lebanon, where I come from, is, indeed, a country of
such dialogue.
Your Holiness, this is the challenge before us.
In spite of our doctrinal, ecclesiological and theological differences, we
must work together on the basis of our common apostolic faith and in
faithfulness to our common calling.
This encounter in the presence of our archbishops, bishops, and laity,
representing our communities in the Middle East, in Europe and in North
America, marks an important step forward in our centuries-old fraternal
relation and collaboration. I am confident that it will enhance our
ecumenical commitment to reflecting and acting, witnessing and serving
together on the way towards the full realization of God’s kingdom
inaugurated by our Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray to the Almighty God to strengthen Your Holiness physically and
spiritually as you carry on your pontifical mission in a world torn apart by
so many crises and conflicts.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with all of us.
ARAM I
CATHOLICOS OF CILICIA
24 November 2008
Antelias, Lebanon