St. Petersburg Times, Florida
Oct 14 2007
A rare visit, a blessing
From Armenia, he comes. He blesses children. The church is next.
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
Published October 14, 2007
PINELLAS PARK – They came from South Florida, New York, Massachusetts
and around Tampa Bay to see the man who is their spiritual leader.
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, did not disappoint.
He smiled, joked about his English and blessed them all.
Catholicos Karekin seemed especially pleased to meet the children of
the Armenian diaspora. They had practiced their greeting in Armenian
and were the first to greet the pontiff, who touched their heads and
blessed each one. When a little girl covered her face and seemed
overwhelmed by the whole event, he stooped down to comfort her.
The pontiff, whose ecclesiastical seat is in Etchmiadzin, Armenia, is
on an 18-city visit in the United States. He is making his historic
visit to Pinellas Park to consecrate the new $2-million St. Hagop
Armenian Church. The ceremony, which will take place today at 10
a.m., will be filled with pageantry and symbolism.
In a prelude to today’s service, the pontiff officiated at the
turnpatzek, or "opening the doors" ceremony, Saturday evening. The
service began outside the traditional Armenian edifice, where about
300 of the faithful gathered along with representatives from the
Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Greek Orthodox and other denominations.
Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler greeted the pontiff by kissing his
ring.
"I’m not sure I did the right thing," Mischler said later.
Kneeling on a cushion placed at the entrance to the church,
Catholicos Karekin knocked on the door to St. Hagop three times, said
a brief prayer that began, "Open unto us, Lord," and opened the
double doors.
During the brief ceremony that followed, he gave an animated address
in Armenian. In it, the pontiff praised the congregation’s
achievement and referred to the recent approval by the House Foreign
Affairs Committee of a resolution that would call the deaths of over
1-million Armenians at the hands of the Turks during World War 1 a
genocide. He praised God that recognition has come 92 years later.
Coming on the heels of the resolution, the pontiff’s security
Saturday appeared to be extra tight. A busload of St. Hagop’s
parishioners who went to meet him at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Airport on Saturday had to meet him at a different hangar than they
had anticipated. Saturday evening, a security detail watched
carefully as those who came to greet the pontiff surrounded him. The
crowd was kept in the church until he entered his car to return to
his hotel.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
