(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent the following telegram to Filip Vujanović , the President of Montenegro :
As I fly over Montenegro on my apostolic journey to Armenia, I extend cordial greetings to Your Excellency. I pray that Almighty God may bestow upon you and your fellow citizens peace and prosperity.
Franciscus PP.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent the following telegram to the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bakir Izetbegović :
I extend cordial greetings to Your Excellency and your fellow citizens, as I fly over Bosnia and Herzegovina en route to Armenia for a pastoral visit. I pray that Almighty God may grant you all His blessings.
Franciscus PP.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent the following telegram to the President of the Republic of Croatia , Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović :
As I fly over Croatia on my way to Armenia for a pastoral visit, I send cordial greetings to Your Excellency and your fellow citizens, together with my prayers that Almighty God will bless all of you with peace and well-being.
Franciscus PP.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis arrives in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Friday afternoon for his 14th foreign pastoral visit. He’ll be spending three days in the country, travelling to the nearby town of Etchmiadzin, seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as to the northern city of Gyumri and to the famous Khor Virap monastery on the border with Turkey.
Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as the state religion at the beginning of the fourth century and the great majority of people in the country today belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church which is part of the Oriental Orthodox family.
Relations with other Christian communities, including the small Armenian Catholic and Roman Catholic Churches, are very good and Pope Francis will be focusing on the importance of ecumenical dialogue and action at a prayer service on Saturday in Yerevan’s Republic Square.
To find out more, Philippa Hitchen spoke to Fr John Barker who heads the tiny Anglican community in Armenia and represents the Archbishop of Canterbury for relations with the Armenian Apostolic Church….
Listen:
Fr John says there is an impressive level of warmth, agreement and mutual understanding in Armenia between all the different Churches.
He says the people have a dual hope for this papal visit: firstly that the memory of the genocide, a century ago, will be brought back into the public eye. But “just as importantly” he says, there is a hope that “it will show again that we have the potential to speak as one Christian voice, irrespective of whether we come from an Apostolic, a Catholic or an Anglican background.
The Armenian Church today, he continues, have a “very significant voice” in public life, since around 95% of people are members of the Church and around half of those practice their faith on a regular basis.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has departed from Italy for a three-day Apostolic Voyage to Armenia .
As the Pope began his journey, he sent the following telegram to Sergio Mattarella , the President of Italy:
In the moment in which I undertake my Apostolic Voyage to Armenia in order to draw from the ancient wisdom of that people, to confirm them in the faith, to support every effort along the path of peace and reconciliation, I address to you, Mr President, and to the whole Italian nation my cordial greetings, which I accompany with an encouragement to the entire country to remain on the front line of solidarity, looking to the future with confidence and hope.
(from Vatican Radio)…