On the first liturgical commemoration of Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, in the General Roman Calendar, the Congregation for the Eastern Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity organized a celebration in the Vatican on Saturday 27 February, in collaboration with Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Rome, and with the Embassy of the...

His Holiness Pope Francis on 2 February, 2020, inserted four new liturgical Memorials into the Roman Calendar: Martha, Mary, and Lazarus will be celebrated together, while the three Doctors of the Church: Gregory of Narek, John of Avila, and Hidegard of Bilgen will have their own optional memorials. The decree of Pope Francis says “the combination of holiness with knowledge in the experience of the mystery of Jesus Christ...

The traditional period for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this year took place from January 18-25. His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian was invited to take part in three ecumenical prayer services which were organized on the occasion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. [caption id="attachment_2248" align="alignleft" width="272"] The Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome[/caption] The Chaplain of the...

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian on  January 22 made a presentation at the public lecture series of the “Tillard Chair” of the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of the St. Thomas Aquinas Pontifical University (Angelicum). The “Tillard Chair” at the Angelicum was inaugurated by Cardinal Walter Kasper in 2003 in honor of the renowned French theologian and ecumenist Jean-Marie Tillard, OP (1927-2000). The subject of the...

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the direction of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, launched “Artsakh Outreach.” This program is designed to provide relief for the tens of thousands of displaced Armenians who have fled to safety in Armenia and are in dire need of financial, spiritual, medical and psychological support. This very important outreach project of the Armenian...

H.E. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian met with H.Em. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture and H.E. Bishop Paul Tighe, Executive Director or the Pontifical Council for Culture on December 3, 2020. The Pontifical Council for Culture is a department of the Roman Curia, which is charged with fostering relationships between the Catholic Church and other churches and cultures. Archbishop...

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The 150th Anniversary of the birth of Komitas Vartabed has been celebrated with a series of concerts in several European cities, presented by the Deacon’s Choir of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the same seminary where Komitas had studied, taught and formed a choir, and later became the Father of Armenian Music. Considered Armenia’s foremost composer, ethnologist and musicologist, Father Komitas elevated the study...