His Holiness Karekin II Blesses the Armenian Army's Military Flag
His Holiness Karekin II Visits the Yerablour Pantheon with the Presidents of Armenia and Karabagh
On January 28, the day of the founding of the Armenian Army, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, together with His Excellency Robert Kocharian, President of the Republic of Armenia, visited the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. They were there to attend the ceremony of presenting the Armenian Army's Military Flag to the Ministry of Defense.
The military flag, as the symbol of the Armenian Army's glory and victories, was presented to the Ministry of Defense as per the order of the President of Armenia, on the occasion of the Army's Tenth Anniversary jubilee. The military flag was solemnly handed to Mr. Serj Sarkissian, the Minister of Defense of Armenia.
In the course of the ceremony, His Holiness offered a prayer to God for the Armenian Army and blessed the military flag.
Following the solemn ceremony, His Holiness Karekin II, and His Excellency Robert Kocharian, accompanied by their respective entourages, moved to the Yerablour Pantheon and paid tributes of respect to the memory of the martyred soldiers, and placed flowers on their graves. His Excellency Arkadi Ghoukassian, President of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh, as well as many high-ranking state officials and officers from Armenia and Karabagh, were present at the Pantheon. The entourages stopped before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the grave of Vazgen Sarkissian, the first Minister of Defense of Armenia, where His Holiness offered a prayer for the peace of the souls of the soldiers who devoted their lives to the Motherland.
