Congressional Record
September 27, 2005 Senate
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
PONTIFICAL VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS ARAM I
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join the Armenian
American community in welcoming the upcoming Pontifical visit of His
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. The Pontiff
will be visiting the State of California this October at the invitation
of His Eminence, Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America.
His Holiness is one of the most prominent Christian leaders in the
Middle East and a spiritual leader for hundreds of thousands of
Armenians around the world. The Pontiff presently serves as the
Moderator for the World Council of Churches which is comprised of more
than 340 churches from different cultures and countries around the
world representing over 400 million Christians. Currently serving his
second term, His Holiness is the first Orthodox and the youngest person
to be elevated to Moderator.
The theme of the Pontiff’s visit is “Towards the Light of
Knowledge.” This theme reflects the Pontiff’s faith that only with
greater education and dialogue can the world’s conflicts be addressed
properly.
I take this opportunity to not only thank The Pontiff for his time
and worthy endeavors in California, but also thank the sizable Armenian
community which has been actively contributing to the California
culture and economy since 1878. California cities of Los Angeles and
Glendale are home to the second and third largest populations of
Armenians outside of Armenia and are important members of their
communities serving as business leaders and city council members.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress