PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212)-686-0710
Fax: (212)-689-1934
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July 28, 2009
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MEETING OF ARMENIAN CHURCH AND RUSSIAN ORTHODOX LEADERS HELD IN MOSCOW

Between July 14 and 16, His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, traveled to Moscow to meet with His Holiness
Patriarch Kirill I, the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia,
and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since his installation last
February.

Accompanying His Holiness was Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern); Archbishop Nourhan
Manoogian, locum tenens of the Patriarchate of Jersualem; Archbishop Aram
Ateshian, chair of the Religious Council of the Patriarchate of
Constantinople; Archbishop Barkev Martirossian, Primate of the Armenian
Church of Artsakh; Archbishop Yeznik Petrosyan, director of ecumenical
relations at Holy Etchmiadzin; Bishop Yezras Nersissian, Primate of the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Russia and New Nakhichevan; Bishop Movses
Movsesian, Primate of the Armenian Church of Southern Russia; and leaders of
the Russian-Armenian community.

"Your Holiness, we came here to renew the brotherly love that has existed
between our peoples and our churches for centuries. That love is the basis
of our cooperation," Catholicos Karekin II said to Patriarch Kirill I.
Catholicos Karekin II also expressed his gratitude to the Patriarch for his
good will toward the Armenian community in Russia.

The two leaders discussed various issues, including the conflict over
Nagorno-Karabagh. It was decided that the Russian Patriarch would host a
meeting between Armenian and Azeri religious leaders some time in the near
future, to further examine this issue.

"I am glad that Vehapar asked me to be a part of this historic moment,"
Archbishop Barsamian said. "The occasion allowed for our church to reaffirm
its close relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church."

Patriarch Kirill I was consecrated as the leader of the Russian Orthodox
Church last February. Prior to that, he served as the archbishop, and later
as the metropolitan, of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, and as chairman of the
Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for External Church Relations.

The visit this month marked Catholicos Karekin II’s first meeting with
Patriarch Kirill since the latter assumed his new role. The Catholicos had
met with Patriarch Kirill in his previous capacities, and with the late
Patriarch Alexy, both in Russia and Armenia, on several occasions.

Prior to his election as Patriarch, then-Archbishop Kirill also met on
several occasions with Archbishop Barsamian. In 2003, the Primate hosted a
luncheon in his honor at the Diocesan Center in New York City.

Also during the visit to Moscow, Bishop Yezras Nersissian, Primate of the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Russia and New Nakhichevan, invited
members of Catholicos Karekin’s entourage to visit the construction site of
the new diocesan complex in Moscow. When completed, the complex will be one
of the largest Armenian diocesan centers in the world.

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CAPTIONS:

Photo2: His Holiness Patriarch Kirill I, the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of
Moscow and All Russia, welcomes His Holiness Karekin II and Archbishop
Khajag Barsamian.

Photo3: The representatives of Russian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic
Churches pose for a group photo with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill I and His
Holiness Karekin II.