JOINT DECLARATION OF POPE AND PATRIARCH KAREKIN II

VATICAN CITY, SEP 27, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II and His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, signed a joint declaration this morning in Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia, in which they recall how "the Armenian people in A.D. 301 were bathed in the divine light and earnestly turned to Christ as the Truth, the Life, and the Way to salvation."

"Endowed with great faith, (the Armenians of old) chose to bear witness to the Truth and accept death when necessary, in order to share eternal life. Martyrdom for the love of Christ thus became a great legacy of many generations of Armenians."

"The extermination of a million and a half Armenian Christians," the declaration continues "in what is generally referred to as the first genocide of the twentieth century, and the subsequent annihilation of thousands under the former totalitarian regime are tragedies that still live in the memory of the present-day generation. These innocents who were butchered in vain are not canonized, but many among them were certainly confessors and martyrs for the name of Christ. We pray for the repose of their souls, and urge the faithful never to lose sight of the meaning of their sacrifice. We thank God for the fact that Christianity in Armenia has survived the adversities of the past seventeen centuries, and that the Armenian Church is now free to carry out her mission of proclaiming the Good News in the modern Republic of Armenia and in many areas near and far where Armenian communities are present.

"Armenia is again a free country, as in the early days of King Tiridates and Saint Gregory the Illuminator. Over the past ten years, the right of citizens in the burgeoning Republic to worship and practice their religion in freedom has been recognized. In Armenia and in the diaspora, new Armenian institutions have been established, churches have been built, associations and schools have been founded."

"The example of Christian Armenia testifies that faith in Christ brings hope to every human situation, no matter how difficult."

"Here at Holy Etchmiadzin we renew our solemn commitment to pray and work to hasten the day of communion among all members of Christ's faithful flock, with true regard for our respective sacred traditions."

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