DECR chairman completes his visit to Armenia

On 14 December 2010, Metropolitan Hilarion, staying in Armenia with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and at the invitation of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, visited the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan.

The chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame and watered the fir-tree planted in the territory of the memorial complex by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during his visit to Armenia last March. Metropolitan Hilarion and members of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation prayed for the genocide victims. On their way to the airport they visited a Moscow Patriarchate church of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord currently under construction.

Metropolitan Hilarion was seen off by bishops and clerics of the Armenian Apostolic Church, including Bishop Ovakim (Manukian), head of the Inter-Church Relations Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Bishop Markos (Oganesian) of Gegarkuni, and deacon David Minasian, secretary of the Inter-Church Relations Department. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Armenia V. Kovalenko was also present at the airport. Bishop Ezras (Nersesian), head of the Novo-Nakhichevan and Russian diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church departed for Moscow together with the delegation.