Tweet
PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  +374-10-517163
Fax:  +374-10-517301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Website:  www.armenianchurch.org
September 26, 2007
Catholicos of All Armenians and Archbishop of Canterbury Sign Joint Communique
His Grace Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, paid an official
visit to the Armenian Church, 22-25 September 2007 at the invitation of His
Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.  The Archbishop was
accompanied by Bishop Geoffrey Rowell, Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe and
Anglican Co-Chair of the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Joint International
Commission and Bishop David Stancliffe, the Bishop of Salisbury. This visit
follows the official visit of His Holiness Karekin II to the Church of
England in 2004.  These reciprocal visits have offered the opportunity to
experience the particularities of the life and mission of both Churches in
their historical and modern contexts.  At the conclusion of the visit the
Catholicos of All Armenians and the Archbishop of Canterbury jointly signed
the following communique:
Joint Communique of
His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians
and His Grace Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
at the conclusion of the Archbishop's visit to the Armenian Church
22-25 September 2007
We rejoice that on the occasion of reciprocal visits to the Church of
England (2004) and the Armenian Church (2007), we have each participated as
brothers in the Divine Liturgy of our Churches and spent time together with
our brother bishops, priests and faithful in both prayer and worship. This
present visit has been a wonderful opportunity to experience some of the
fullness of the life of the Church in Armenia.  In addition to visiting a
number of monasteries and seminaries, we have together seen at first hand,
examples of the pastoral outreach of the Armenian Church to some of the most
needy in Armenian society, including the young - both those studying and
learning new skills at the youth centres run by the Church and others
serving a time of detention in the correctional facility at Abovian, where
chaplains provide for the spiritual needs of the inmates.  We were heartened
to see new churches being built in rapidly developing urban areas - a sure
sign of new life in both our Churches.
We have had discussions with the President and Prime Minister of the
Republic of Armenia - their Excellencies Robert Kocharian and Serge Sargsian
- as well as with the Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian.
For our Churches and, we believe, for the well-being of our societies the
continuing development of fruitful and mutually respectful relations between
Church and State is crucial.  The Church must always be a sign of the
unconditional love of God in the midst of His people.  In spreading and
teaching the Word of God in the world we must be loving, truthful and
fearless, always finding ways to speak honestly and openly, in a spirit of
charity and love, to all our brothers and sisters, and to the government and
public authorities in our two countries.
We have both been deeply moved to participate in a special ceremony of
prayer and recollection at the Memorial to the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan,
where we were joined by our brothers and sisters of the Executive Committee
of the World Council of Churches in a service of remembrance for the victims
of genocide everywhere.
At the end of this blessed time together we acknowledge with deep gratitude
the many blessings of Almighty God that have sprung from the long and close
relationship between the Anglican Communion and the Armenian Church. 
We welcome the establishment of the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Joint
International Commission in 2001 and believe that the significant
Christological agreement reached by the Commission at its first meeting in
2002 in Holy Etchmiadzin demonstrates the importance of this continuing
theological dialogue between the family of Oriental Orthodox churches and
the Anglican Communion. 
We express our sadness at the temporary suspension of this dialogue, and
with great hope in our hearts for the future; we look forward to an early
resumption of the work of the Commission.
We thank God for the great gift of friendship between ourselves, and our two
churches, and pray earnestly that the fruit of these friendships will be
manifest in the lives and witness of the members of our churches and
especially in their faithful witness to God's love for us in Christ Jesus.
      
 0;  /signed/             ;&# xA0;            ;&# xA0;            ;/s igned/
          KAREKIN II         ;          ;&# xA0;       
 0;      ROWAN WILLIAMS
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS        ;         ;& #xA0;    ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  +374-10-517163
Fax:  +374-10-517301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Website:  www.armenianchurch.org
September 26, 2007
Catholicos of All Armenians and Archbishop of Canterbury Sign Joint Communique
His Grace Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, paid an official
visit to the Armenian Church, 22-25 September 2007 at the invitation of His
Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.  The Archbishop was
accompanied by Bishop Geoffrey Rowell, Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe and
Anglican Co-Chair of the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Joint International
Commission and Bishop David Stancliffe, the Bishop of Salisbury. This visit
follows the official visit of His Holiness Karekin II to the Church of
England in 2004.  These reciprocal visits have offered the opportunity to
experience the particularities of the life and mission of both Churches in
their historical and modern contexts.  At the conclusion of the visit the
Catholicos of All Armenians and the Archbishop of Canterbury jointly signed
the following communique:
Joint Communique of
His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians
and His Grace Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
at the conclusion of the Archbishop's visit to the Armenian Church
22-25 September 2007
We rejoice that on the occasion of reciprocal visits to the Church of
England (2004) and the Armenian Church (2007), we have each participated as
brothers in the Divine Liturgy of our Churches and spent time together with
our brother bishops, priests and faithful in both prayer and worship. This
present visit has been a wonderful opportunity to experience some of the
fullness of the life of the Church in Armenia.  In addition to visiting a
number of monasteries and seminaries, we have together seen at first hand,
examples of the pastoral outreach of the Armenian Church to some of the most
needy in Armenian society, including the young - both those studying and
learning new skills at the youth centres run by the Church and others
serving a time of detention in the correctional facility at Abovian, where
chaplains provide for the spiritual needs of the inmates.  We were heartened
to see new churches being built in rapidly developing urban areas - a sure
sign of new life in both our Churches.
We have had discussions with the President and Prime Minister of the
Republic of Armenia - their Excellencies Robert Kocharian and Serge Sargsian
- as well as with the Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian.
For our Churches and, we believe, for the well-being of our societies the
continuing development of fruitful and mutually respectful relations between
Church and State is crucial.  The Church must always be a sign of the
unconditional love of God in the midst of His people.  In spreading and
teaching the Word of God in the world we must be loving, truthful and
fearless, always finding ways to speak honestly and openly, in a spirit of
charity and love, to all our brothers and sisters, and to the government and
public authorities in our two countries.
We have both been deeply moved to participate in a special ceremony of
prayer and recollection at the Memorial to the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan,
where we were joined by our brothers and sisters of the Executive Committee
of the World Council of Churches in a service of remembrance for the victims
of genocide everywhere.
At the end of this blessed time together we acknowledge with deep gratitude
the many blessings of Almighty God that have sprung from the long and close
relationship between the Anglican Communion and the Armenian Church. 
We welcome the establishment of the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Joint
International Commission in 2001 and believe that the significant
Christological agreement reached by the Commission at its first meeting in
2002 in Holy Etchmiadzin demonstrates the importance of this continuing
theological dialogue between the family of Oriental Orthodox churches and
the Anglican Communion. 
We express our sadness at the temporary suspension of this dialogue, and
with great hope in our hearts for the future; we look forward to an early
resumption of the work of the Commission.
We thank God for the great gift of friendship between ourselves, and our two
churches, and pray earnestly that the fruit of these friendships will be
manifest in the lives and witness of the members of our churches and
especially in their faithful witness to God's love for us in Christ Jesus.
      
 0;  /signed/             ;&# xA0;            ;&# xA0;            ;/s igned/
          KAREKIN II         ;          ;&# xA0;       
 0;      ROWAN WILLIAMS
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS        ;         ;& #xA0;    ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY