LAWSUIT AGAINST TURKEY CONCERNING THE RETURN OF SIS CATHOLICASATE TO BE FILED WITHIN TWO WEEKS
18:28, 10 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Under the leadership of His Holiness Aram I, after three days of
meetings, the Central Committee representing the dioceses of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia, its Executive Committee, the Council of
Religion and the plenary of the Prelates adopted the document whereby:
They welcome the activities planned by the Catholicosate of Cilicia on
national and international levels for the commemoration of the 100th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, as well as those activities
planned by the dioceses. They strongly support the proposal to pursue
the political and legal aspects of recognition and restitution related
to the Genocide and commend the Pan-Armenian Declaration recently
adopted in Erevan.
They are aware of the profound meaning of the decision of the two
Catholicoi to make the martyrs of the 1915 Genocide into saints on
23 April 2015, during a special ceremony in Holy Etchmiadzin.
They are grateful for His Holiness Aram I’s ecumenical commitment
despite the dwindling interest of many churches in ecumenism. They also
support Catholicos Aram I’s commitment to Christian-Muslim dialogue to
help Christians and Muslims live together and condemn fundamentalism.
They will organize a pilgrimage from their respective dioceses to
Lebanon for the blessing of the Holy Muron at the St. Mary’s Monastery
in Bikfaya in July and the commemorative activities at the Bird’s
Nest and Antelias.
They share His Holiness Aram I’s vision of the Seminary as an important
pillar of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in preparing the clergy and
sustaining the spiritual and moral values of the church.
They promise to support the seminary financially and morally.
They acknowledge the role of the Christian Education Department in
enabling the women and the youth to learn the basic teachings of the
church and her diakonia. They also urge the department to use modern
educational approaches and technology to improve its teaching methods.
They concur with His Holiness to include youth in the structures of
the diocesan committees and other organizations of the community.
They express their gratitude to the constructions and renovations
committee for preparing the locations for the commemorative events.
They thank the Board of the Khatcher Kaloustian Foundation for its
effort in promoting the Western Armenian language and introducing
new pedagogical approaches.
They recognize the financial dependency of the Catholicosate on the
dioceses and benefactors and appreciate deeply His Holiness Aram I’s
achievements despite the limited funds.
They share the pain of the Armenian community in Syria, and promise
to accompany them during these difficult times and help them later
to rebuild their lives. They consider the presence of Armenians in
the Middle East extremely important for the whole nation and call
upon all Armenian organizations to demonstrate their solidarity with
Armenians in Syria.
They are indebted to His Holiness Aram I for his initiative in
preparing a litigation against the Turkish authorities demanding
the return of the historical centre of the Catholicosate of Cilicia
in Sis, in cooperation with international human rights lawyers. The
lawsuit will be filed within two weeks.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
