Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On January 22, the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox opened their 14th Session in Rome. The Commission is being hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Plenary sessions will be held through January 28. The theme for the theological dialogue is “The Sacrament of Holy Communion and the Church”. During the session, the 26 members of the Joint Committee will discuss the historical developments of the Sacrament of Holy Communion within the two church families; liturgical-theological specifications and expressions of church study.

With the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, attending from the Mother See are His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America and Very Rev. Fr. Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Ecumenical Relations Department of the Mother See.

During the session, the liturgical-theological specifications of the Sacrament of Holy Communion in the Armenian Church will be presented during a report “The historical development of the Sacrament of Holy Communion: theological relations of the Divine Liturgy and the Church in the Armenian Apostolic Church tradition.”