ARMENIA MOURNS WITH THE CATHOLIC WORLD

PanARMENIAN.Net - The period of John Paul II was quite productive for the relations between Roman Catholic Church and Armenian Apostolic Church as well as the political dialogue between Vatican and Yerevan. It was during John Paul II when Vatican officially adopted the fact of Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey. (Before John Paul II Pope Benedict XI condemned Armenian genocide but his statements were not confirmed with any official document). The Turks still cannot forgive the late Pope for his attendance to the Yerevan memorial of the victims of 1915 Armenian genocide.

During the past years contacts between Armenian political leadership and St. Peter's chair have been developing quite actively. The Pope has had three meetings with the President of our country. By the way, Robert Kocharyan is one of the last Presidents to meet John Paul II in consciousness. It was on January 30 during the official visit of the President of Armenia to Rome. After a couple of days the Pope was taken to hospital.

The ecumenical initiatives of the head of Catholic Church had a positive impact on the relations between Rome and Echmiadzin thrones. Three Armenian Catholicoses have visited Vatican during John Paul II. The late Catholicos Vazgen I visited the residence of Pope in 1970. Catholicos Garegin I visited Vatican in 1996. In 2000 Catholicos Garegin II also visited Vatican. John Paul II intended to come to Yerevan yet in 1998 but the visit was postponed because of the death of Garegin I. The Pope came to Yerevan in 2001 on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of adoption of Christianity in Armenia. The Pope brought the remains of the founder of Armenian Apostolic Church Gregory the Illuminator. On January 19 the Pope fulfilled the request of the head of Armenian Catholic Church Nerses Peter XIX and opened a 6-meter statue of St. Gregory in Vatican

Theological disagreements between the hierarchs of Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Church have significantly reduced during the past several years. This is quite notable in the background of the continuous "cold war" between Vatican and Russian Orthodox Church. The best confirmation of understanding between the heads of Catholic and Apostolic Churches was the 2001 joint mass in Echmiadzin Cathedral held by the Pope and Armenian Catholicos in Armenian, Latin and English and the joint statement of patriarchs. All we need now is to hope that the dialogue with the successor of John Paul II will also be as productive as before.


Artem Erkanyan