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PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy
of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
Email: [email protected]
For more information:
Zanku Armenian (818) 243-3557
Mercata Group
Armenian Pontiff to Make Historic Visit to California
The Largest Armenian Diasporan Community in the World Eagerly Awaits
Pontiff's Arrival
(Los Angeles, CA - August 29, 2005) - His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos
of the Great House of Cilicia will begin a 15-day Pontifical visit to
the State of California on October 5, 2005. The historic trip of the
Pontiff, who prominently serves as the Moderator for the World Council
of Churches (WCC), an organization representing over 400 million
Christians worldwide, will be framed around the theme of "Towards the
Light of Knowledge." His Holiness represents hundreds of thousands of
Armenian American Christians whose ancestors made Armenia the first
nation to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 A.D.
During his visit to California, His Holiness will participate in a
number of religious ceremonies, educational programs and youth forums
in Los Angeles, Fresno and San Francisco. The Pontifical visit will
begin on October 5th with an official welcoming ceremony at Saint
Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church in Hollywood and conclude with
a visit to the Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan Armenian School in
San Francisco on October 18th. The Pontiff will visit a number of
other areas, including Fresno, where he will deliver his Pontifical
message on October 10th at the historic Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic
Church. His Holiness will expand on the theme of his Pontifical visit
"Towards the Light of Knowledge" at a luncheon hosted by the Los
Angeles World Affairs Council on October 14th.
As the spiritual leader of the Great House of Cilicia, His Holiness
represents a religious center established in 1441 to serve the
spiritual needs of Armenians living in the Near East. For centuries,
the Great House of Cilicia maintained a network of over 15 dioceses,
dozens of monasteries and was served by hundreds of faithful
priests. Following the Armenian Genocide of 1915, during which 1.5
million Armenians were massacred and their houses of worship destroyed,
the Catholicosate was relocated to Antelias, Lebanon.
As the Moderator for the WCC, His Holiness represents the broadest
and most inclusive organization of the modern ecumenical movement,
a movement whose goal is Christian unity. The WCC brings together
more than 340 churches, denominations and church fellowships
in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world,
representing some 400 million Christians. The WCC brings together
most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of denominations from
such historic traditions of the Protestant Reformation as Anglican,
Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed, as well as many united
and independent churches.
Today the Catholicosate of Cilicia houses a prominent Cathedral,
a Veharan (the Catholicos residence), accommodations for visiting
clergy, modern printing facilities, a museum, a library, as well
as administrative offices to run a prominent Seminary and various
dioceses in the United States, Canada, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Greece
and Cyprus operating under its jurisdiction.
The visit of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia to the United States has been initiated by His Eminence,
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western Prelacy of the
Armenian Apostolic Church on the occasion of the 90th commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide and the 1600th anniversary of the creation
of the Armenian alphabet.
The Pontifical visit will be marked by a number of memorable occasions,
including; a pontifical mass at St. Mary's Church in Glendale on
October 9th, a youth forum in Fresno on October 10th, a visit to Fresno
University's campus on October 11th, a major address on "Christianity
in the Middle East" to be delivered at the World Affairs Council on
October 14th and a symposium on the "Christian Response to Violence"
to be held at the University of Southern California on October 15th.
# # #
Western Prelacy
of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
Email: [email protected]
For more information:
Zanku Armenian (818) 243-3557
Mercata Group
Armenian Pontiff to Make Historic Visit to California
The Largest Armenian Diasporan Community in the World Eagerly Awaits
Pontiff's Arrival
(Los Angeles, CA - August 29, 2005) - His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos
of the Great House of Cilicia will begin a 15-day Pontifical visit to
the State of California on October 5, 2005. The historic trip of the
Pontiff, who prominently serves as the Moderator for the World Council
of Churches (WCC), an organization representing over 400 million
Christians worldwide, will be framed around the theme of "Towards the
Light of Knowledge." His Holiness represents hundreds of thousands of
Armenian American Christians whose ancestors made Armenia the first
nation to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 A.D.
During his visit to California, His Holiness will participate in a
number of religious ceremonies, educational programs and youth forums
in Los Angeles, Fresno and San Francisco. The Pontifical visit will
begin on October 5th with an official welcoming ceremony at Saint
Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church in Hollywood and conclude with
a visit to the Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan Armenian School in
San Francisco on October 18th. The Pontiff will visit a number of
other areas, including Fresno, where he will deliver his Pontifical
message on October 10th at the historic Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic
Church. His Holiness will expand on the theme of his Pontifical visit
"Towards the Light of Knowledge" at a luncheon hosted by the Los
Angeles World Affairs Council on October 14th.
As the spiritual leader of the Great House of Cilicia, His Holiness
represents a religious center established in 1441 to serve the
spiritual needs of Armenians living in the Near East. For centuries,
the Great House of Cilicia maintained a network of over 15 dioceses,
dozens of monasteries and was served by hundreds of faithful
priests. Following the Armenian Genocide of 1915, during which 1.5
million Armenians were massacred and their houses of worship destroyed,
the Catholicosate was relocated to Antelias, Lebanon.
As the Moderator for the WCC, His Holiness represents the broadest
and most inclusive organization of the modern ecumenical movement,
a movement whose goal is Christian unity. The WCC brings together
more than 340 churches, denominations and church fellowships
in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world,
representing some 400 million Christians. The WCC brings together
most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of denominations from
such historic traditions of the Protestant Reformation as Anglican,
Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed, as well as many united
and independent churches.
Today the Catholicosate of Cilicia houses a prominent Cathedral,
a Veharan (the Catholicos residence), accommodations for visiting
clergy, modern printing facilities, a museum, a library, as well
as administrative offices to run a prominent Seminary and various
dioceses in the United States, Canada, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Greece
and Cyprus operating under its jurisdiction.
The visit of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia to the United States has been initiated by His Eminence,
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western Prelacy of the
Armenian Apostolic Church on the occasion of the 90th commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide and the 1600th anniversary of the creation
of the Armenian alphabet.
The Pontifical visit will be marked by a number of memorable occasions,
including; a pontifical mass at St. Mary's Church in Glendale on
October 9th, a youth forum in Fresno on October 10th, a visit to Fresno
University's campus on October 11th, a major address on "Christianity
in the Middle East" to be delivered at the World Affairs Council on
October 14th and a symposium on the "Christian Response to Violence"
to be held at the University of Southern California on October 15th.
# # #