PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
“THE ANTELIAS SEMINARY BECAME MY SECOND BIRTHPLACE”
declares His Holiness Aram I
A special ceremony was held in Athens on April 16 on the occasion
of the 10th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Aram I
and the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Seminary of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias.
His Holiness Aram I delivered a special speech on the occasion,
stressing that the Seminary in Antelias had been a second birthplace
for him.
“The Seminary in Antelias became my second birthplace, where I
was reborn and received spiritual and mental formation and where
I undertook the task of serving our church, nation and homeland,”
he said.
His Holiness assured that the Seminary is not a school in the usual
meaning of the word. Rather, it’s an institution that transmits spirit
and faith and forms a truthful Armenian and an honest spiritual man.
“The Seminary will continue its mission with this realization and
mission,” he said.
His Holiness thanked those who had made good wishes on the occasion
of the 10th anniversary of his enthronement, and said: “After the
Seminary, our people became another seminary for me. I learned a lot
from my interactions with our people as a Vartabed, a Bishop and a
Catholicos. There’s a lot learn in a service dedicated to people,
if we’re ready to see the right, to listen and to learn.”
The opening remarks were delivered by Bishop Khoren Doghramdjian,
prelate of the Prelacy of Greece, who spoke about the main achievements
of His Holiness and the mission of the Seminary.
Ara Mangoian of the Prelacy spoke in detail about the Seminary and
focused on the service the Seminary provided to the Armenian Church
and people.
Kevork Kandaharian, a long time professor in the Seminary spoke about a
decade of service by His Holiness Aram I as the Catholicos of Cilicia.
Kandaharian focused on Aram I the intellectual, the spiritual leader,
the ecumenist and the constructor.
His Holiness had arrived in Athens the same day. He was greeted at
the airport by the prelate of the Prelacy of Greece, the clergy
of the Armenian Community of Greece, the Minister of Religious
Affairs of Greece and the Ambassadors of Lebanon and Armenia to the
country. Rev. Bartev Gulumian, Rev. Housig Mardirossian and Mr. Kevork
Kandaharian accompanied His Holiness.
The Catholicos then went to the Saint Garabed Church of Athens,
where a crowd of faithful greeted him. After a short service,
Bishop Doghramdjian welcomed His Holiness, who gave a special sermon,
during which stressed the important role of faith and the church in
the lives of people.
His Holiness also visited the Cemetery of Athens, where he conducted
a requiem service in front of the tomb of the late Archbishop Sahag
Ayvazian, who had been the prelate of the Prelacy of Greece for more
than 40 years.
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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
history and the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer
to the web page of the Catholicosate, The
Cilician Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is
located in Antelias, Lebanon.