Forthcoming visit by the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II
28.02.2000 · English, Архив 2000
FORTHCOMING VISIT BY THE SUPREME PATRIARCH AND CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS KAREKIN II
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, will visit the Russian Orthodox Church from February 29 to March 2, 2000. It will be the first official visit of the newly-elected Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, which will certainly contribute to the consolidation of centuries-old fraternal relations between the peoples and Churches of Russia and Armenia.
His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia will meet the Supreme Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II at the airport. Then they will have a meeting at the Patriarchal residence in St. Daniel’s monastery to be followed by a dinner in honour of the Supreme Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.
On March 1, the Supreme Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II will attend the Patriarchal divine service at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is one of the ancient Eastern Orthodox Churches. It was founded as an independent national Church in the 4th century and has preserved her spiritual identity to this day. According to tradition, the early Christian communities appeared in Armenia as far back as the 1st century through the preaching of Sts Thaddeus and Bartholomew. In 301, under the King Tiridat III and St. Gregory the Illuminator, Christianity was declared the state religion in Armenia. In her doctrine, the Armenian Church is based on Holy Scriptures and the Holy Tradition and the actions of the first three Ecumenical Councils. She belongs to the family of Oriental Churches, which also includes the Coptic, the Syrian, the Malabar and the Ethiopian Churches. Since the 60s of this century, a theological dialogue has been conducted between the Orthodox and Oriental Churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church is headed by the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos. The highest authority in this Church is the National Church Council, which elected on April 27, 1999, the 132th Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.
His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II (Nersesian) was born in 1951 at the village of Voskeat near Echmiadzin in Armenia. In 1965 he entered the Theological Academy at Holy Echmiadzin, which he graduated with honours in 1971. In 1970, he was ordained deacon, in 1972 he took monastic vows and was ordained priest. In 1972, he was sent to continue his education in Austria and in 1975 to Bonn, Germany. In 1979 he was took post-graduate studies at the Moscow Theological Academy in what was Zagorsk. In 1983 he was consecrated bishop and appointed vicar of the diocese of Ararat. He was made archbishop in 1992. On November 30, 1998, Catholicos Karekin I appointed him his deputy for general and current affairs and member of the Synod.