Two Pontiffs Visit Vaskenian Seminary of Lake Sevan
03.05.2003
On May 3, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and His Holiness Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, visited the Vaskenian Theological Seminary of Lake Sevan. They were greeted at the entrance of the Seminary by the Dean, Rev. Fr. Karekin Harutiunian, along with the seminarians and faithful from the surrounding villages.
His Holiness Karekin II guided Pope Shenouda on a brief tour of the grounds, following which the two Pontiffs entered the St. James (Hakob) Chapel. The chapel is in the final stages of construction, and will be used by the seminarians in their daily services.
Once inside, Fr. Karekin welcomed the heads of the Armenian and Coptic Churches to Lake Sevan, and informed His Holiness Shenouda III of the mission and history of the Seminary. The Vaskenian Seminary Choir presented a selection of liturgical music.
Following the program, the Catholicos of All Armenians invited the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church to deliver his message to the seminarians. Pope Shenouda exhorted the young men to be faithful servants of God. In his remarks, he focused specifically upon the calling of a priest and his mission in the lives of the flock entrusted to him. Pope Shenouda stressed that any priest is not fulfilled in his mission only through the acquiring of knowledge, but also in the high example he sets for his faithful in the way he lives his life. His Holiness emphasized that the first priority of any priest is to lead his flock towards the Eternal Kingdom of God.
At the conclusion of their visit to Lake Sevan, His Holiness Karekin II invited His Holiness Shenouda III to plant a tree in the courtyard of the seminary. It has become a tradition of high-ranking church dignitaries to plant trees as a reminder of their visit. The tree that Pope Shenouda planted will now grow among others planted previously by His Holiness Vasken I of blessed memory; His Holiness Karekin II (then Catholicos of Cilicia); His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch; and His Holiness Ilia II, Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Earlier in the day, the two Pontiffs also visited with the President of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Robert Kocharian; were received in the National Academy of Sciences and met with its President, Mr. Fadey Sargisian; and traveled to the Arabkir district of Yerevan where they visited both a Youth Center and a soup kitchen run under the joint auspices of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Armenian General Benevolent Union.
