A JOURNEY OF SERVICE AND FRIENDSHIP The Ecumenical works of the Armenian Church, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, during the Pontificate of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Preface Through articles and photos the book gives a brief reflection on several important areas of ecumenism in the Armenian Church, starting with an CONTENTS The Holy Apostolic Armenian Church, during her 2000 years of exis- overview of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Church; the rela- tence, has always been involved in inter-church, inter-religious and inter- tionships of the Armenian Church with Sister Churches, ecumenical orga- governmental relationships, representing the Armenian Christian faithful nizations, inter-church and inter-religious relations; International Relations; with honor and devotion. Ecumenical relationships and cooperation have THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH ....................................8 and the youth of the Armenian Church and their unique participation in always been a part of the mission of the Armenian Church. Our history re- the ecumenical movement. Also included are the activities of the “Arme- flects diverse types of dialogues and fellowships, driven by the conditions THE RELATIONS OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH WITH SISTER CHURCHES ....................................22 nia Round Table Charitable Foundation” of the World Council of Churches and environment facing the Armenian people and nation. (WCC), which operates from the grounds of the Mothers See of Holy Etch- THE ARMENIAN CHURCH WITHIN THE LIFE OF THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES Archbishop Malachia Ormanian, a great scholar of the Armenian miadzin. Church, reflected at the beginning of the 20th century that the Armenian We are pleased to present this book to our reader, which was generated AND THE CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN CHURCHES...... ........................................................................ 38 Church, “full of the spirit of tolerance” and driven by Christ’s love and by the efforts of members of Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmi- commandments, has always upheld positive relationships with Christian adzin and lay persons, who are engaged in ecumenical works at the Mother Churches, striving to jointly contend with the challenges of the modern ARMENIA ROUND TABLE OF THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (ART) ................................ 50 See of Holy Etchmiadzin. world while remaining faithful to Her sacred values and holy traditions. Along with the contributors to this book, we express our gratitude and During the Pontificate of His Holiness Karekin II, the ecumenical activi- THE YOUTH MOVEMENT IN THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH faithful devotion to His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians ties of the Armenian Church have increased and strengthened, while edu- AND ITS RELATION TO ECUMENISM. ........................................................................................................... 56 for His blessings to undertake the work. We thank also Archbishop Yeznik cating and enlightening the faithful on her ecumenical works. In his first Petrossian, General Secretary of the Inter-Church Relations Department of encyclical issued on February 5, 2000 His Holiness stated: “We shall con- the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, for his support and blessings, Fr. Per THE ARMENIAN CHURCH AND OTHER RELIGIONS tinue to actively participate in Inter-church life, faithful to the preservation Pedersen from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark and Mr. Al- of peace throughout the entire world, and to cooperation among peoples INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE .......................................................................................................................... 60 exander Belopopsky the former Europe Secretary the WCC, whom respec- with brotherly love, according to the traditions of our Church. Uniting our tively wrote two articles sharing their impressions on realized ecumenism efforts with sister Christian Churches in the face of a variety of challenges THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC HOLY CHURCH within the Armenian Church. of these times, we shall conscientiously implement the holy mission of pro- IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS .................................................................................................................... 68 viding meaning to human life with the light of spirituality, for the sake of Appreciation is extended to the Armenia Round Table of the WCC and the victory of the good and universal happiness through the embodiment Dr. Karen Nazarian for his generosity in financing this project as well as to REALIZED ECUMENISM ...................................................................................................................................... 80 of Christian principles”. Mrs. Paula Devejian for her critical approach, comments and labors in mak- ing the text presentable for English readers. The official periodicals published by the Mother See of Holy Etchmi- ARMENIA: NOTES OF AN ECUMENICAL JOURNEY ................................................................................. 84 adzin, in the Armenian language, provide core information about the ec- We are most grateful to all of the people who helped generate this pub- umenical relationships and various dialogues of the Armenian Church, lication through their research, writings, articles, photos, assistance and ad- ANNEXES ................................................................................................................................................................... 89 keeping the faithful judiciously informed about the activities and progress vice. of the Church. With this book, we wish to share in other languages, the con- Very Rev. Archimandrite Hovakim Manukyan tributions of the Armenian Church to the collaboration efforts in the ecu- Inter-Church Relations Department menical sphere. Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin The Republic of Armenia is situated in the southern Caucasus region Armenian industry includes mining, metal manufacturing, chemical and occupies 29,800 square kilometers. It borders Georgia in the north, and device-manufacturing industries, power engineering, communica- Turkey in the west, Azerbaijan in the east and southeast, and Iran in tion enterprises, food, textiles, glass production and processing. the south. Armenia is a mountainous country with fast-running rivers Agriculture in the country includes alpine cattle breeding, garden- and alpine valleys. Of her 3,057,000 residents (according to the census of ing, and vegetable growing. Many famous scientists consider Armenia 2002) 96% of the population is Armenian, about 2% is Yezidi, and the re- as a centuries-old cultivated territory of wheat, barley and grapes; the mainder includes Russians, Jews, Syrians, Greeks, and Kurds. Armenia Latin term for apricot — Armeniaca — suggests a long preeminence of is divided into 10 regions as well as the capital city of Yerevan, which one of the country’s tastiest fruits. has regional status and is inhabited by 1.1 million residents. Armenia is a country of ancient civilization. The oldest human traces Armenia is an industrial-agrarian country. The main natural resourc- here date back 500,000 years. During the past two centuries, archeolo- es are gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, and bauxite. In addition to the gists of the world have studied and continue to study the remnants of capital of Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, Abovian, Hrazdan, and Vaghar- the civilizations of Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. shapat are also large cities. In Armenia there are two international air- The ancient state of Armenia was the kingdom of Urartu (Van), which ports (Yerevan and Gyumri). Forests cover 13% of the country’s territory, lasted from about the 9th to the 6th centuries B.C. In 782 B.C. Yerevan was and the road system extends 760 kilometers while the length of the rail- founded; the Museum of Natural History currently preserves the stone ways is 12,100 kilometers. The governing system of Armenia consists of evidence. Many localities founded during that era are large cities and the president and the parliament. The former acts as head of state, who villages today. The first recorded mentions of Armenia by that name is elected to a five year term for no more than two consecutive terms. were in the 6th century B.C. in the Behistun multi-lingual inscription of The legislative power belongs to the one-chamber Parliament, which King Darius I (Dareh) of the Achemenian Persian Empire and in a Baby- has 131 deputies, 90 of whom are determined by quota sample and the lonian map that has been traced back to the 5th century. remainder by popular vote. The executive power is carried out by the The kingdom of Armenia reached the height of its power in the 1st government, which is composed of the prime minister and his cabinet, century B.C., during the reign of King Tigran II the Great, when the em- as well as administrations attached to the government. Judicial power pire occupied the territory from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. is employed by the three-fold court system, which includes a Constitu- Around the middle of the 1st century B.C., Armenia became an object of tional Court that regulates the adherence of laws to the acting constitu- discord between Old Rome and the Parthian state. tion. Armenia is a secular democratic country whose political system In 301 A.D. Christianity became the state religion of Armenia. In 405 aims at consolidating the bases of democracy