HIS HOLINESS GAREGIN II CONCLUDES THE FRATERNAL VISIT TO VATICAN
armradio.am
13.05.2008 17:48
His Holiness Garegin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians concludes his one week fraternal visit to the Bishop of
Rome and Pope of the Catholic Church, His Holiness Benedict XVI,
Press Service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin informed.
Accompanying His Holiness throughout the duration of the visit were
His Eminence Archbishop Nourhan Manoogian, Grand Sacristan of the
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem; His Grace Bishop Aram Ateshian,
Grand Sacristan of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople; and
approximately 20 additional archbishops and bishops of the Armenian
Church – primates of Armenian Dioceses in North and South America,
Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
On Tuesday, May 6, the Pontiff of All Armenians and his delegation
arrived at Ciampino Airport in Rome. Also joining His Holiness were
more than 75 devoted laymen of the Armenian Church from throughout
the world who were invited by the Catholicos to participate in this
historic visit to the Holy See and Italy. This was His Holiness’
third visit to the Vatican since his election as Catholicos of All
Armenians in 1999.
The visit to Italy was composed of three parts: a four-day visit to
the Vatican, a one-day visit to the Armenian community of Milan and
a two-day visit to the Mekhitarian Congregation on the Island of San
Lazzaro in Venice.
On Wednesday morning, His Holiness Karekin II and the Armenian bishops
visited the tomb of Pope John Paul II of blessed memory, in the crypt
below Saint Peter’s Basilica, and offered a solemn prayer for the
repose of his soul. The Catholicos and the Armenian delegation also
visited the newly named St. Gregory the Illuminator plaza inside
St. Peter’s courtyard and viewed the statue of the patron saint of
the Armenian Church, placed there during the pontificate of John
Paul II. Immediately afterwards, the Armenian delegation of clergy
and laity participated in the general audience in St.
Peter’s Square, jointly held by Pope Benedict XVI and Catholicos
Karekin II. The two church heads exchanged messages of greeting, a
fraternal embrace and kiss of peace on the platform in front of the
mother cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church, before a crowd of more
than 35,000 faithful.
In his message to the Pope and the faithful, the Catholicos stated in
part, "Dear Brother in Christ, today, on the threshold of the Feast
of Pentecost, when we unite our prayers to those of Your Holiness
and of your faithful sons and daughters, we praise and glorify the
Holy Spirit, Who is the fountainhead of unity and transforms our
steps on the paths of brotherhood with grace – steps which are for
the glory of God and are born from the love of Christ, for the sake
of establishing peace in the world and a blessed life for mankind. In
spite of different historical experiences and paths we have traversed;
in spite of dogmatic and cultural divergences, we are all children of
the one God, and we are all brothers and sisters in His Holy love. For
in our diversity, it is our unity of love that is the genuine testimony
that we are children of God.
"Intolerance and confrontation must not be allowed within the
brotherhood and love of Christ. Mankind has suffered much as a
result. Today as well, the creation of God – the world that surrounds
us – is imperiled through interfaith disagreements, through wars
and terrorism, through the effects of poverty and neglect. Our
brothers and sisters are in distress in the Middle East and many
other regions of the world; where women and children, the elderly and
disabled are endangered by the blows of disagreement and division,
unjust competition and enmity. This is not the Will of God. This
is not our calling. We aspire to live a life in peace, of creation
and creativity, to use the graces given to us by the Holy Spirit,
to serve the establishment of unity and solidarity with the love of
Jesus Christ and the message of the Gospel, since ‘for those that
love God, all things work together unto good.’ (Romans 8:28)
"We Armenians are a people who have survived genocide, and we know
well the value of love, brotherhood, friendship, peace and a secure
life. Today, many countries of the world recognize and condemn the
Genocide committed against the Armenian people by Ottoman Turkey,
as did the Holy See, by His Holiness Pope John Paul II of blessed
memory during our fraternal visit to Rome in 2000. Offering prayers
to his luminous memory, we as Pontiff of the Armenians, appeal to
all nations and lands to universally condemn all genocides that
have occurred throughout history and those that continue through
the present day, so that those who yield power and authority realize
their responsibilities and results of those crimes which have been
and continue to be committed against the creation of God, and that
the denial of these crimes is an injustice that equals the commission
of the same."
That same afternoon, His Holiness Garegin II was presented with
an Honoris Causa doctorate degree from the Pontifical Salesian
University recognizing his fruitful work in Christian Education and
Youth Instruction. Attending the ceremony representing His Holiness
the Pope were His Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, Vatican State
Secretary and His Eminence Walter Cardinal Kasper, President of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
On Thursday, May 8, His Holiness Karekin II and his delegation visited
the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and conveyed his blessings
and warm greetings to the participants of a symposium dedicated to the
study of the Armenian Divine Liturgy. The symposium was organized by
Fr. Robert Taft and included presentations by Armenian and Catholic
learned scholars from throughout Europe and North America. His
Eminence Leonardo Cardinal Sandri, Prefect for the Vatican’s Council
for Oriental Churches, also accompanied His Holiness to the symposium.
Friday morning, May 9, the delegation of 100 Armenian bishops and
faithful went to the Apostolic Palace of the Holy See, for a private
audience under the joint presidency of His Holiness Garegin II and His
Holiness Benedict XVI. The two pontiffs again exchanged warm messages
of greeting and brotherly love, embraced with a solemn kiss of peace
and spoke of the strong ties and increasing collaboration between
the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
His Holiness Garegin II, addressing the head of the Catholic Church
and the Armenian faithful gathered for the audience, stated in part,
"We offer gratitude to the Almighty in heaven, as successor to Saints
Thaddeus and Bartholomew, and the saint co-equal to the apostles,
Gregory the Illuminator, that we are enjoying the light of this good
day when we exchange the divinely ordained kiss of peace with Your
Holiness, worthy successor to the See of Saint Peter, seven years
after experiencing the joy of receiving your predecessor of blessed
memory under the gaze of biblical Mount Ararat. It is even more joyous
that this kiss of peace is exchanged on this day, the 9th of May,
when we are celebrating Victory and Peace Day in our homeland – the
day which commemorates the conclusion of World War II – the cause of
great human tragedy and misery; as well as the triumph of our people
in the national liberation struggle for Nagorno Karabakh.
A short prayer service was held under the presidency of both church
heads, following which, the faithful approached the Catholicos and the
Pope to kiss their right hands and receive their blessings. At the
conclusion of the audience, Catholicos Karekin II and Pope Benedict
XVI met privately during lunch to discuss issues of importance to
both Churches.
In the afternoon, His Holiness Karekin II, met with His Grace
Archbishop Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Vatican
Guest House for a private meeting. The head of the Church of England
and the Anglican Communion was coincidentally also in the Holy See
this week, and the two fondly recalled the Archbishop’s fraternal
visit to Holy Etchmiadzin in September 2007, as well as discussed
the upcoming Lambeth Conference for the Anglican Communion and the
current state of relations with sister Churches.
The final event at the Vatican was an Ecumenical Prayer Service,
offered at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, where the
grave of St. Paul the Apostle is located. His Holiness Karekin II
presided during the service, which included the participation of
Roman Catholic and Armenian Church bishops and clergy.
In addition to the official events throughout the course of the week,
His Holiness and the church hierarchs also visited a number of Armenian
and Catholic churches and shrines. His Holiness and the high-ranking
clergymen departed Rome for Milan on Saturday morning.
Upon the invitation of the Pope Benedict XVI His Holiness Karekin
II paid an official visit to Vatican from May 6-9, 2008 accompanied
by 18 Archbishops, Bishops of the Armenian Church. The fraternal
relations between the See of Rome and the See of Etchmiadzin have
further developed and deepened in recent years. The Armenian Church
and the Catholic Church share a long history of mutual respect,
considering their various theological, liturgical, and canonical
traditions as complementary.