Vatican City, Nov 21, 2008 / 09:16 am
Ecumenical relations between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church are continuing to progress as the Vatican announced today that a high-level leader from the Armenian Church will visit the Pope.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians, whose See is located in the Lebanese town of Antelias, is scheduled to make an official visit to the Pope and the Church of Rome from November 23-27.
As Catholicos of Cilicia, Aram I presides over a large sector of the Armenian Apostolic Church which includes Syria, Cyprus, Iran, Greece and Lebanon. The term "Catholicos" is used in the Armenian Apostolic Church to refer to the chief bishop of a region.
In May of this year, Pope Benedict XVI received Karekin II, the head of the whole Armenian Apostolic Church and held discussions about the necessity of prayer for increasing unity amongst Christians.