CATHOLICOS ARAM I AND POPE LEO XIV DISCUSS ARTSAKH AND ECUMENISM IN OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE VATICAN

On Monday, May 18, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, during a private meeting at the Vatican, discussed the issue of Artsakh, as well as the tensions prevailing in the Middle East and inter-church relations, a day after the Catholicos’ arrival in Rome for a four-day official visit, during which he was accompanied by His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan, Prelate, as well as the other prelates of the Cilician prelacies. 

This is their first meeting since the Pope’s election on May 8, 2025. 

During the meeting with the Pope, His Holiness emphasized the right of the Armenians of Artsakh to return under international guarantees, the preservation of churches and historical monuments in accordance with international law, and the imperative of the release of the Artsakh leaders imprisoned in Baku. 

The Catholicos also brought up the establishment of a common date for Easter, a day of commemoration for all martyrs, and the convening of a Third Vatican Council, stressing the urgent necessity of these matters in inter-church relations. The situation in Lebanon also featured prominently in the conversation.  

Concerning the aforementioned points, the Pope expressed his understanding and support, while also providing the necessary clarifications. 

Following the private meeting, both spiritual leaders exchanged official remarks in the presence of members of the Catholicos’s delegation and representatives of the Vatican.

During this meeting, the Catholicos referred to the historical relationship between the Armenian Church and the Vatican, which acquired broader dimensions during the Cilician Kingdom after the eleventh century. This relationship further developed with the rise of the ecumenical movement and found expression through theological dialogues and inter-church meetings and cooperation.  

In his remarks, His Holiness expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the Vatican’s support regarding  the Armenian Genocide and the restoration of the rights of the Armenian people, as well as for its support for the right of self-determination of the people of Artsakh. 

In his message, Pope Leo XIV again referred particularly to the relationship between the Armenian Church and the Catholic Church during the Cilician period and to its subsequent development after the Catholicosate of Cilicia was transferred to Antelias, Lebanon. Within this context, he also welcomed the important role of His Holiness Aram I in the ecumenical movement, especially through the World Council of Churches and in expanding cooperation with the Catholic Church. 

The Pope also recalled St. Nerses Shnorhali as a champion of inter-church relations. In this regard, on the Catholicos’s visit, the Holy Father announced for the first time that the Catholic Church had included St. Nerses Shnorhali in the Roman Catholic Martyrology and that henceforth the Catholic Church would also observe his commemoration.  

The Pope also stressed the importance of Lebanon both for Christianity in the region and for Christian-Muslim coexistence.

Following the exchange of official remarks, the Catholicos introduced the Prelates in his delegation. Afterwards, at the Urban VIII Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, a joint ecclesiastical ceremony presided over by Pope Leo XIV and Catholicos Aram I took place, prepared especially with prayers and hymns drawn from the rite of the Armenian Church. 

With Cardinals Parolin and Koch

The Catholicos and his delegation also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, during which His Holiness once again stressed the imperative of the right of return of the Armenians of Artsakh and appealed for the Vatican’s support. During the conversation, the Catholicos and the Cardinal also discussed the difficulties facing Lebanon. 

At the conclusion of the meeting, which lasted about an hour, His Holiness had the opportunity to hold a private conversation with the Cardinal regarding several sensitive issues. 

His Holiness also met with Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, during which the Catholicos emphasized the need to formulate a new ecumenical mindset, approach, and emphasis corresponding to the conditions of the contemporary world and the expectations of Christian peoples. Today, doctrinal and theological questions inherited from the past are not as urgent for the churches as moral and ethical issues, which have become existential realities in the life of the churches. Therefore, these issues must receive priority in inter-church cooperation, His Holiness said. 

Within the framework of his visit, His Holiness Aram I also delivered a lecture at the Pontifical Oriental Institute of the Vatican. (See story here)

In addition to Archbishop Anoushavan, the members of the Catholicos’ delegation were Archbishop Gomidas Ohanian, Archbishop Kegham Khatcherian, Archbishop Nareg Alemezian, Archbishop Papken Tcharian, Archbishop Shahe Panossian, Archbishop Magar Ashkarian, Archbishop Mesrob Sarkissian, Bishop Sahag Yemishian, Bishop Dajad Ashekian, V. Rev. Fr. Hovagim Panjarjian, and V. Rev. Fr. Sarkis Aprahamian.