His Holiness Catholicos Aram I’s Meetings in the Vatican

During his visit to the Vatican, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, met with the following key Vatican officials:

1. In the absence of the Secretary of State His Beatitude Cardinal Pietro Parolin, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I met with the Secretary for Relations with States, His Eminence Archbishop Paul Gallagher. They discussed the current situation in Lebanon, the issue of the Armenian POWs held captive in Azerbaijan, and the Lebanese presidential election.

2. His Holiness met with His Beatitude Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, to address the current challenges facing the ecumenical movement and the theological dialogue between the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

3. Discussions with His Beatitude Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, focused on cooperation between Catholic Churches in the Middle East and Orthodox and Protestant Churches, issues related to Christian-Islam dialogue, the return of indigenous Armenians of Artsakh under international protection, and the release of the Armenian prisoners held captive in Azerbaijan.

4. His Holiness Catholicos Aram I also met with His Beatitude Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. They emphasized the importance of re-evaluating Theology in light of contemporary challenges.

During his brief visit, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I was hosted by His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, who honored him with a dinner at the Levonian School of the Armenian Catholic Church. Official dinners in his honor were also held by Farid El-Khazen, the Lebanese Ambassador to the Vatican, and His Beatitude Cardinal Koch.

Accompanying His Holiness Catholicos Aram I were His Eminence Arch Mesrob Sarkissian, the Prelate of UAE and Qatar, and V. Rev. Fr. Sarkis Aprahamian, the Officer of the Middle Eastern section of the Ecumenical and Inter-religious Relations Department of the Catholicosate.

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This news was originally published on the website of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, Antelias, Lebanon.