Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church Arrives to Armenia - Welcoming Service Held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church Arrives to Armenia - Welcoming Service Held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin- Western Diocese of the Armenian Church

Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church Arrives to Armenia - Welcoming Service Held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

Published - 30 June 2016

On June 24, 2016, under the theme "Visit to the First Christian Nation" Pope Francis launched a three-day visit to the Republic of Armenia.

The Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church was welcomed by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; and Mr. Serzh Sarkisyan, President of the Republic of Armenia, at the Zvartnots International Airport. They were accompanied by their delegations as well as representatives of the Catholic and Armenian Catholic Church.

After the chartered aircraft landed, Pope Francis was greeted at the bottom of the jetway, by the President Sargsyan and First Lady Ms. Rita Sargsyan, after which the Patriarchs of the two churches exchanged a fraternal embrace.

Two young children in national costumes offered Armenian apricot and lavash to the Pope. The Little Singers of Armenia Choir, led by Mr. Tigran Hekeyan, welcomed Pope Francis with a performance of traditional hymns. At the Airport, the Patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church was met by honour guards, a military orchestra and a marching band.

The Catholicos of All Armenians and the President Sargsyan introduced the members of the Armenian delegations to Pope Francis. His Eminence Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh; His Eminence Archbisop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America; His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America; His Eminence Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan, Vicar of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese; His Eminence Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See; His Grace Bishop Arshak Khachatryan, Chancellor of the Mother See; and Very Rev. Fr. Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Ecumenical Relations Department of the Mother See were in the delegation of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.

After a brief conversation at the airport with the President of Armenia, His Holiness and Pope Francis, accompanied by their delegations, left for Holy Etchmiadzin.

In the Mother See, the two Pontifss were met by the members of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin and officials. On this occasion, numerous pilgrims, from Armenia and the Diaspora, welcomed the Pope with flags and signs.

The procession of clergymen of the Armenian and Catholic Churches, under the ringing of the bells of the Mother Cathedral and the singing of the hymn “Glorious God”, led the Catholicos of All Armenians and the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church to the Mother Cathedral.

At the Cathedral, the Pontiffs bowed in front of the Altar of Descent kissing the Holy Bible and the Holy Cross, then ascended the Main Altar of the Cathedral where a brotherly embrace was exchanged.

After jointly reading psalms, Pope Francis read the "In the temple" prayer, then the Mother Cathedral Choir performed the "Etchmiadzin I Hore" hymn.

Pope Francis through the recitation of the prayer "Preserve us, Christ our God", blessed the pious faithful.

Following the prayer, His Holiness Karekin II welcomed Pope Francis and stated:

Your Holiness, beloved brother in Christ,

We give glory and thanks to God, as we welcome you, and the delegation accompanying you today, with brotherly love and prayer in this holy cathedral, where the Only-Begotten Son descended. We are deeply touched that per Our invitation You have visited Armenia, to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. This ancient cathedral is the testimony of the covenant set between our people and God. It is on this sacred site that Jesus Christ descended and with His venerable Holy Right Hand established Holy Etchmiadzin which is the Holy of Holies of the entire Armenian nation.

By divine providence, through the vision and zealous efforts of the second Enlightener of the Armenians, Catholicos St. Gregory; the lanterns of faith that were lit in the hearts of our people through the preaching of St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew, were renewed.

Since that day the light that is emanating from Holy Etchmiadzin binds our people with their history, sacred treasures and homeland – spread around Ark-bearing Mount Ararat.

We are immensely delighted that today in this holy cathedral of Etchmiadzin the prayers of the two pontiffs of the Sees of St. Peter and Sts. Thaddeus and Bartholomew, are united in the glory of God, pleading peace for our faithful and for all the world, calling for a strong spirit of love and brotherhood and fruitful cooperation.

At this moment it is with warm feelings, that we remember the visit of St. John Paul II to Armenia in 2001, on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity as the State religion in Armenia.

That was the first visit of a Pontiff of the See of St. Peter to our land, which became a new incentive for cooperation in the brotherly relationship between our Churches.

You also have made notable impact in strengthening the brotherly relationships between our Churches, by showing particular kindness towards the Armenian Church and our people on various occasions throughout your ministry.

The visit of Your Holiness is a renewed testament to the brotherly relationships and collaboration of our Churches and is mutually empowering for the faithful of both the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches. Your visit also fills us with optimism that our testimonies of faith, reinforced with Christian love, will be felt more strongly in our lives.

Our people remember with gratitude your solemn Mass celebrated in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Basilica of St. Peter, with your historic sermon condemning the Genocide.

We give thanks to God that today together with Your Holiness, the sons and daughters of the Catholic Church, with our faithful Armenians, including those who have come to Armenia on the occasion of Your visit, can pray and beseech the intercession of the canonized martyrs of the Armenian Genocide, whose bloodshed is a testimonial of victory not only for the Armenians but also for the Christian faith as a whole. As the apostle says, abundance of grace is multiplied through the Glory of God by the thankfulness of many, (2 Corinthians 4:15).

After the destruction caused by the Armenian Genocide and the Godless years of the Soviet era, our church is living a new spiritual awakening by freely realizing the Christ-bestowed mission in the lives of our people in conditions of independent statehood in our Homeland. Our church is also engaging in a greater participation in the life of pan-Christian relations, strongly believing that at a time when the world is filled with deepening spiritual, political, economic, and humanitarian crisis, it is important more than ever for the Sister Churches to jointly pray and cooperate for the fruitfulness of the mission of Christ’s holy Church, for keeping and cherishing Christian ethical values in the world, for strengthening love towards mankind, through which true results of security and prosperity can be actualized.

We extend our prayer for the stability and prosperity of the Holy Church of Christ, for the spread of the spirit of love and favor of our Lord, and for increasing peace and life in solidarity in the world.

We call on the Lord to support Your Holiness, and wish you a long and healthy reign, for the sake of prosperity of the Roman Catholic Church and for consolation of the faithful.

Welcome to the Biblical land of Armenia and to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

Let the mercy, grace and blessings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ remain with us all, evermore. Amen.

Pope Francis also delivered a message and it stated:

Venerable Brother, Supreme Patriarch-Catholicos of All Armenians,

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is very moving for me to have crossed the threshold of this holy place, a witness to the history of your people and the centre from which its spirituality radiates. I consider it a precious gift of God to be able to approach the holy altar from which the light of Christ shone forth in Armenia. I greet the Catholicos of All the Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II, with heartfelt thanks for his gracious invitation to visit Holy Etchmiadzin, and all the Archbishops and Bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church. I thank you for your cordial and joyful welcome. Thank you, Your Holiness, for having welcomed me into your home. This sign of love eloquently bespeaks, better than any words can do, the meaning of friendship and fraternal charity.

On this solemn occasion, I give thanks to the Lord for the light of faith kindled in your land, the faith that has given Armenia its particular identity and made it a herald of Christ among the nations. Christ is your glory and your light. He is the sun who has illuminated and enlivened you, accompanied and sustained you, especially in times of trial. I bow before the mercy of the Lord, who willed that Armenia should become, in the year 301, the first nation to accept Christianity as its religion, at a time when persecutions still raged throughout the Roman Empire.

For Armenia, faith in Christ has not been like a garment to be donned or doffed as circumstances or convenience dictate, but an essential part of its identity, a gift of immense significance, to be accepted with joy, preserved with great effort and strength, even at the cost of life itself. As Saint John Paul II wrote: “With the ‘baptism’ of the Armenian community… the people acquired a new identity that was to become a constitutive and inseparable part of Armenian life. It would no longer be possible to think that faith did not figure as an essential element among the components of this identity” (Apostolic Letter for the 1700th Anniversary of the Baptism of the Armenian People [2 February 2001], 2). May the Lord bless you for this luminous testimony of faith. It is a shining example of the great efficacy and fruitfulness of the baptism received over seventeen hundred years ago, together with the eloquent and holy sign of martyrdom, which has constantly accompanied the history of your people.

I also thank the Lord for the journey that the Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church have undertaken through sincere and fraternal dialogue for the sake of coming to share fully in the Eucharistic banquet. May the Holy Spirit help us to attain the unity for which our Lord prayed, so that his disciples may be one and the world may believe. I gladly recall the decisive impulse given to developing closer relations and strengthening dialogue between our two Churches in recent years by Their Holinesses Vasken I and Karekin I, and by Saint John Paul II and by Benedict XVI. As significant stages of this ecumenical engagement, I would mention: the commemoration of the Witnesses to the Faith in the twentieth century during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000; the consignment to Your Holiness of the relic of the Father of Christian Armenia, Saint Gregory the Illuminator, for the new Cathedral of Yerevan; the Joint Declaration of His Holiness John Paul II and Your Holiness, signed here in Holy Etchmiadzin; and the visits which Your Holiness has made to the Vatican for important events and commemorations.

Tragically, our world is marked by divisions and conflicts, as well as by grave forms of material and spiritual poverty, including the exploitation of persons, not least children and the elderly. It expects from Christians a witness of mutual esteem and fraternal cooperation capable of revealing to every conscience the power and truth of Christ’s resurrection. The patient and enduring commitment to full unity, the growth of joint initiatives and cooperation between all the Lord’s disciples in service to the common good: all these are like a radiant light in a dark night and a summons to experience even our differences in an attitude of charity and mutual understanding. The spirit of ecumenism takes on an exemplary value also outside of the visible confines of the ecclesial community; it represents for everyone a forceful appeal to settle divergences with dialogue and appreciation for all that unites us. It also prevents the exploitation and manipulation of faith, for it requires us to rediscover faith’s authentic roots, and to communicate, defend and spread truth with respect for the dignity of every human being and in ways that reveal the presence of the love and salvation we wish to spread. In this way, we offer to the world – which so urgently needs it – a convincing witness that Christ is alive and at work, capable of opening new paths of reconciliation among the nations, civilizations and religions. We offer a credible witness that God is love and mercy.

Dear brothers and sisters, when our actions are prompted by the power of Christ’s love, understanding and reciprocal esteem grow, a fruitful ecumenical journey becomes possible, and all people of goodwill, and society as a whole, are shown a concrete way to harmonize the conflicts that rend civil life and create divisions that prove hard to heal. May Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, Saint Gregory the Illuminator, “pillar of light for the Holy Church of the Armenians”, and Saint Gregory of Narek, Doctor of the Church, bless all of you and the entire Armenian nation.

May he preserve you always in the faith you received from your ancestors, and to which you have borne glorious witness throughout the ages.”

Following the offering of a prayer, under the singing of the Pontifical hymn, a procession of clergy led His Holiness and the Pope to the Pontifical Residence.

His Holiness and Pope Francis paused in front of the gravestone of Vazgen I Catholicos of All Armenians, offering their respect and tribute to his bright memory. At the entrance of the Residence, His Holiness and the Pope also listened to a performance of the Paros Chamber Choir.

During the visit, the Patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church, hosted by the Catholicos of All Armenians, will stay in the Mother See.

The Hrashapar Service was attended by representatives from the dioceses of the Armenian Church, State officials, benefactors of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and pilgrims.

PHOTOS

Pope Francis Arrives in Armenia - June 24, 2016 - 8 photo(s)