President Serzh Sargsyan visited the Antelias Catholicate of the Great House of Cilicia

In the framework of his official visit to Lebanon, President Serzh Sargsyan visited Antelias and met with His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.

Before the meeting, President Sargsyan and Mrs. Rita Sargsyan accompanied by Catholicos visited the Saint Grigor Illuminator Cathedral and the Chapel built next to the Cathedral and dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

In Antelias, at the reception organized with the participation of the heads of the community structures, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia bestowed the highest honor of the Catholicate, the Cross of Cilicia upon the President of Armenia.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed gratitude for the order and such a great honor. In his address, speaking about the “Armenia is strong with Spyurk and Spyurk is strong with Armenia” dictum, the President of Armenia reiterated that it is not only a dictum but a lifestyle. According to the President, we all have to make great efforts to make that motto true. Serzh Sargsyan hailed devotion of the Armenian-Lebanese community and Catholicate of the Great House of Cilicia to our national aspirations proved by concrete work.

The President of Armenia noted that the Catholicate of the Great House of Cilicia has been not only a spiritual center but a potent source for the preservation of the Armenian identity, whose life-giving force is felt by the entire Armenian nation. President Sargsyan praised also the activities of the entire spiritual corps of the Catholicate under the leadership of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. “We are always ready to assist and stand by you and, of course, to work with delight under your prayers.

Let God save and protect Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, Armenian world and Catholicate of the Great House of Cilicia together with its devoted patriarch,” President Serzh Sargsyan said.