PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
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April 28, 2006
His Holiness Karekin II Receives the President of the Republic of Lithuania
On April 26, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of
All Armenians, received His Excellency Valdas Adamkus, President of the
Republic of Lithuania. President Adamkus was accompanied by his wife, Mrs.
Alma Adamkiene and Mr. Davit Harutyunian, Minister of Justice of the
Republic of Armenia.
His Holiness welcomed the visit of the Lithuanian president to the
headquarters of the Armenian Church and introduced the history and mission
of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in the lives of the Armenian people.
`We offer praise and thanks to God, that the years of oppressive Soviet rule
were not able to destroy the spiritual life of our nation, nor their spirit
and love of Christ. With their Christian faith, the sons and daughters of
our nation reinforced their convictions of liberty and independence, and
fifteen years ago, created our new, free and sovereign republic.’ – stated
His Holiness.
The Pontiff of All Armenians offered a prayer to the Lord to preserve and
protect the Armenian and Lithuanian peoples; strengthen their brotherhood
and solidarity; and increase the cooperation and collaboration between the
two states. His Holiness further expressed the gratitude of the Armenian
people for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by the
Lithuanian government, as well as the careful attention of the Lithuanian
authorities toward the Armenians living in their land.
President Adamkus thanked His Holiness for the warm reception and expressed
his deep respect and esteem for the Armenian Church and her leader. The
president spoke of the significant role the Church has in society,
specifically in establishing and encouraging the proper development of
morals and ethics in the younger generation. `Through your history, one
sees how much Christianity gave to Armenia through your Church. Your
culture, language, literature and art accompanied the Christian faith and
teachings as inseparable parts of the Armenian identity.’ – stated the
Lithuanian president.
The meeting concluded with a discussion on the current state of worldwide
ecumenical relations, within both inter-church and inter-faith dimensions.
Present for the meeting were His Eminence Archbishop Barkev Martirosian,
Primate of the Diocese Artsakh (Nagorno Karabagh); His Grace Bishop Paren
Avedikian, Director of Administrative Matters for the Mother See; and His
Grace Bishop Arshak Khatchatrian, Chancellor of the Mother See
At the conclusion of the cordial meeting, President and Mrs. Adamkus visited
the museum of the Pontifical Residence and the Mother Cathedral of Holy
Etchmiadzin.