His Holiness Catholicos Aram I who arrived in Vatican on 23rd November had a busy schedule, meeting His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and attending various conferances during the 5-day visit.
The official program of the Catholicos began with a visit to St. Peter's Basilica and the tomb of Pope John Paul II on the morning of Monday, November 24. Following his visit to the late Pope’s tomb, Aram I visited the Patio of St. Gregory the Illuminator and paid homage to the saint considered to be the apostle of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Later His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and His Holiness Catholicos Aram had a private meeting in Vatican.
The Catholicos attended a liturgy on Monday at the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, which was led by Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the basilica. On Tuesday, H.H. Aram I attended Vespers in the basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Isola Tiberina in Rome, where he offered a relic of Armenian martyrs to be put on the altar of St. Bartholomew Church. Later the same day the Catholicos attended in a prayer meeting at the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
On November 26, the Catholicos, his entourage, and a group of around 50 Armenian lay people who have come to Rome for the visit attended the weekly general audience that Pope Benedict XVI holds each Wednesday. During the public meeting held in the presence of thousands of pilgrims coming from different parts of the world, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI officially welcomed His Holiness Catholicos Aram I. The Pope said: “This morning I greet with great joy His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians, together with the distinguished delegation accompanying him, and the Armenian pilgrims from various countries. This fraternal visit is a significant occasion for strengthening the bonds of unity already existing between us, as we journey towards that full communion which is both the goal set before all Christ’s followers and a gift to be implored daily from the Lord”. He then recalled the important role of Aram I in the ecumenical movement saying “I wish to express my particular gratitude for your constant personal involvement in the field of ecumenism, especially in the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and in the World Council of Churches”.
Responding to the welcoming address of the Pope Benedict XVI, Catholicos Aram I said that the world of today urges all the churches to work together, in spite of our differences. Then he said: “our two Churches have apostolic origin. Apostolicity is not a mere mark of the Church, a sheer ecclesiological legacy that should be preserved intact. Apostolic origin must be transformed into apostolic vocation”. Emphasizing the crucial importance of re-evangelism, Catholicos Aram I said: “marginalization of Christian values, distortion of Christian identity, and increasing invasion of secularistic and materialistic values into our family and community life, urge the churches to engage in re-evangelism”. His Holiness welcoming the zeal and commitment of Pope Benedict XVI called the churches to unite their efforts in spiritual transformation of societies.
At the end of greetings, the spiritual leaders exchanged kiss of peace in front of the thousand pilgrims, who have came to Vatican from different parts of the world.
H.H. Aram I also participated in an academic ceremony held in his honor at the Pontifical Urban University, and met with Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and other officials of that dicastery.
Source:
http://www.armenianorthodoxchurch.org/v04/doc/English/visitseng.htm#4
http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=27826
No comments:
Post a Comment