Catholicos of All Armenians Receives Director of the Department of Interfaith Affairs of the US Jewish Committee
10.07.2018
On July 9, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians received in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Rabbi David Sloomo Rosen, Adviser of the Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Director of the Department of Interfaith Affairs of the Jewish Committee of the United States, accompanied by His Holiness Karekin II, Archbishop Khazhak Parsamyan and President of the Armenian Union of America Anthony Barsamian.
Welcoming the guest, His Holiness highlighted the latter's visit to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, which would contribute to the strengthening of relations between the two peoples and to the development of cooperation. The Catholicos of All Armenians underlined that fraternal relations with Israel's chief rabbi have a rich history and this meeting at the Mother See is a good opportunity to explore new opportunities for the development of ties.
His Holiness touched upon the relations between the Armenian and Jewish peoples that came from Biblical times and spoke about the important mission of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which was established in the 7th century.
His Holiness emphasized with satisfaction that Diocesan Dioceses have repeatedly witnessed brotherly warm relations between Armenian and Jewish communities during their pontifical visit. The role of the Armenian Jewish community was also important in strengthening friendly relations between the peoples.
According to His Holiness Karekin II, the bilateral agenda is quite rich and includes issues related to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the State of Israel and arms sales to Azerbaijan, which the Mother See gives vital importance to.
For his part, Rabbi David Shlomo Rosen noted that the cooperation of the spiritual leaders of the two countries can be the best way to solve the challenges facing the two peoples.
His Holiness and Rabbi Rosen agreed that all the issues on the bilateral agenda would be easier to discuss in terms of developing relations and creating new formats for interreligious dialogue.
The meeting was attended by the Director of the Department of External Relations and Protocol of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, responsible for the Inter-Church Relations Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Archbishop Shahe Ananyan and Inspector of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary. Archbishop Garegin Hambardzumyan.
