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: nian.htm
"THE NEW PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AFRICA AND ASIA WILL EXTEND AND EXPAND
THE BRIDGE LINKING RELIGIONS AND CULTURES"
Says His Holiness ARAM I
In a message to the Asia-Africa Spiritual Summit, "Awakening of Global
Compassionate Leadership", (October 26-29 Taiwan) His Holiness Aram I
emphasized the vital importance of deepening dialogue and collaboration,
between religions of Africa and Asia. His Holiness was invited as a keynote
speaker, but he was unable to attend the conference. Ms Teny Pirri Simonian
took part in this conference representing the Armenian Orthodox Church’s
Holy See of Cilicia.
Hereunder the text of the message of His Holiness Aram I.
"The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen,
Venerable Monks of Dharma Drum Mountain
Honorable Participants
Love and Peace to you all! I congratulate the Most Venerable Master Sheng
Yen for his important initiative in bringing Africa and Asia, along with the
Middle East, to a Spiritual Summit that aims at awakening a global
compassionate leadership.
Africa, Asia and the Middle East are home to the world’s religions,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism and the three Monotheistic religions, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. The Middle East has interacted with Africa and Asia
in two important ways: many of its people have emigrated to Africa and Asia,
and it has long served as the bridge joining the two regions to one another.
Although people, from different walks of life have often met, there is no
record of an organized meeting of religious leaders. Consequently, religious
leaders have had little opportunity to come together to reflect on each
other’s faith and spiritual values. Such an event is long overdue. By coming
together in dialogue, we may deepen our mutual understanding, and we may
more effectively respond to the sufferings of humanity caused by wars,
environmental crisis, greed and insecurity.
In November 2006 we organized a Middle East-Asia Dialogue entitled "A
Re-Commitment to Spirituality for Mutual Understanding and Peace" at the
Headquarters of our Church in Antelias, Lebanon, November 11-15, 2006. We
met to initiate dialogue between religious leaders from the Middle East and
Asia in order to build understanding of and respect for each other’s
traditions and inherent spirituality. We hoped to build a greater
collaboration in the effort to build a more peaceful, just and sustainable
world community. At that meeting, we also endeavoured to build bridges
between the two geographic regions that gave the world its greatest
religions. In our message, we said, "bridges of faith can provide hope and
healing to wounded nations and pain-filled people, of which there are too
many today." We affirmed the importance of recommitting to the core
spiritual values of our traditions: love, compassion, reconciliation and
peace. We declared that respect for difference is the foundation of these
values. We recognized that our teachings emphasize an understanding of unity
and harmony that is based on diversity. We encouraged religions to adopt a
holistic way of looking at life. We affirmed that nature and humanity are
inseparable and interdependent.
We pray that this Africa-Asia Summit, the aim of which is to awaken
compassionate leadership, will base its reflection on what we said in the
Middle East last year. We hope that this new partnership between Africa and
Asia will extend and expand the bridge linking religions and cultures, as
well as spiritual and moral values.
I regret profoundly that I could not be with you these days. Lebanon is
living difficult moments of its existence because of the conflicts in the
region. As the head of the church, I therefore decided to remain at our Holy
See and accompany our faithful during these difficult times. I pray that
Lebanon will recover its tranquillity soon.
I pray and I believe that Lebanon will recover its tranquillity soon, and
therefore, I would like to invite you to hold the next meeting in Lebanon in
our monastery.
With my deep prayers and sincere wishes,
Aram I
Catholicos of Cilicia"
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View photos:
tos/Photos47.htm#2
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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 Ecumenical
activities 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.