RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH TO OPEN OFFICE IN YEREVAN SOON – PATRIARCH KIRILL

Interfax
Jan 22 2010
Russia

Moscow, January 22, Interfax – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All
Russia has said he hopes a representation office of the Russian
Orthodox Church would open soon in Armenian capital, Yerevan.

"I hope the Russian Orthodox Church will have a representation office
in Yerevan in the near future," Patriarch Kirill said at an awards
ceremony arranged by the Foundation for Unity of Orthodox Nations at
the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on Thursday.

Catholicos Karekin II of All Armenians was among those who were
honored with the 2009 award at the Thursday ceremony.

Russians and Armenians have been feeling like brothers for centuries,
"despite a difference in their languages and theological differences,"
Patriarch Kirill.

The opening of a Russian Orthodox Church office in Yerevan "would
provide another opportunity for dialogue between our Churches,"
he said.

Catholicos Karekin II expressed his gratitude for being honored
with the award and said he would donate its monetary component to
the construction of a new Russian church in Yerevan, which started
only recently.