Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On November 02, Mr. Ararat Mirzoyan, President of the National Assembly of Armenia, visited the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and met His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; and the participants of the Supreme Spiritual Council been held in these days in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

In his welcoming remarks, the Pontiff of All Armenians with gratitude referred to the results of the four-day SSC meeting. “We emphasize the importance of such kind of meetings both with the Supreme Spiritual Council and our clergy, because the National Assembly regulates all the spheres of the public life with its legislative activities, the issues concerning to the spiritual life and value system are also discussed. And in this regard, we stress the importance of the close cooperation between the National Assembly and the Mother See for the sake of our country, our people and our prosperous life”, stated the Catholicos of All Armenians.

His Holiness also emphasized, that throughout the history, the mission of the Armenian Church, in parallel with guiding the Armenian people to the spiritual salvation, has been the preservation of the national identity, the strengthening of the Armenian statehood and the creation of the good and progressive life of the people. Noting that it was the mission and consciousness of the clergyman, His Holiness stated that world-wide Armenians united in love and solidarity should make efforts to strengthen their homeland, due to which, it will be possible to make the national desires and visions come true.

Then, the President of the National Assembly of RA welcomed the Pontiff of All Armenians and the attendees. Reflecting on the enlightening mission of the Church and the clergy and stressing the importance of the cooperation between the Armenian Church and the native Authorities, Mr. Ararat Mirzoyan stated in part, “For centuries, when we did not have statehood, the mission of the enlightenment has rested upon the shoulders of our Holy Fathers: Great Hermitage of Tatev, Gladzor University, Tatev University. These are the institutions, that despite the war disasters, have kept the Armenian public mind alive being the pioneer of the mind revolution”.  The President of the NA of RA spoke about the existing challenges emphasizing that it is possible to build the country’s progress through the cooperation.

At the meeting, the SSC members received elucidations from the President of the NA of RA concerning to the various issues bothering people, legislation regulating the Church-State relations and the existing cooperation.