President receives delegation of WCC Executive Committee

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the delegation of the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) headed by Secretary-General Dr. Olav Tveit. The president also hosted His Holiness Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, who is presiding over the ordinary of session of the WCC Executive Committee which has kicked off at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. It is being held in Armenia in connection with the Armenian Genocide Centennial and the All Armenian Catholicos’s chairmanship in the WCC.

Serzh Sargsyan attached importance to the activities of the WCC of which the Armenian Apostolic Church has been a member for more than half a century. The president expressed his gratitude for the council’s caring attitude towards issues of all Armenian concern which recognized the Armenian Genocide back in 1983. The Armenian president stressed the special significance of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church to our people, which has always served as a center for preservation of national identity in default of the Armenian statehood. According to the president, the state and the church continue to closely cooperate after the restoration of independence to ensure development and prosperity for the Armenian people and the Republic of Armenia.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed the hope that the WCC’s Armenian gathering will take place in a warm atmosphere, thereby contributing both to the realization of the key goals set by the council and to giving fresh stimulus and a breath of air to its dialogue with the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.

At the meeting, the president greatly appreciated WCC Secretary-General Dr. Olav Tveit’s visit to Armenia in April this to take part in the commemorative events marking the Armenian Genocide Centennial, including the Canonization Service. The president expressed his special thanks to him and His Eminence Archbishop Vigen Aykazyan for their significant contribution to the organization of the ecumenical prayer at Washington National Cathedral.

The Armenian president stressed that in the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian people have always felt the support of their friends who embrace universal values, which was manifested in a new light on April 12 this year through the Holy Mass for the Faithful of the Armenian Rite, an unprecedented mass among its kind, led by Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica.

The president also placed importance on the WCC mission to preach religious tolerance. Serzh Sargsyan underscored that Armenia is in favor of promoting dialogue and tolerance, and of peaceful resolution of conflicts, and that key position also refers to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The delegation of the WCC Executive Committee thanked President Serzh Sargsyan for the meeting and the warm reception, emphasizing that the delegation has arrived in Armenia to keep its pledge of justice and peace in regard to the Armenian Genocide Centennial, as well as to further strengthen relations between the Armenian Church and Sister Churches targeted at reinforcing brotherly ties between the churches.