HIS HOLINESS ARAM I HONOURS REVEREND AHARON SAPSEZIAN WITH THE INSIGNIA OF ST. MESROB MASHDOTZ
04/06/2010
On Tuesday 6 April 2010, at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey, Switzerland, in the presence of the General Secretary of the WCC, former Directors and staff of the WCC, representatives of the Armenian Community in Geneva and the Swiss Churches, His Holiness Aram I decorated Reverend Aharon Sapsezian.
Before honoring him with the Insignia, His Holiness addressed Rev. Aharon Sapsezian. He described him as a great pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church who was also a committed ecumenist and an advocate of the Armenian Cause. He then continued: During his fifty years of service as an Evangelical Spiritual leader, Rev. Sapsezian did not forget the Mother Church, the history, and the tradition of his people. As an Ecumenist, first as Regional Secretary for Latin America and the Middle East and later Director of the Ecumenical Theological Fund, Rev. Aharon did his utmost to prepare a young generation of theologians who are today in leadership positions in their churches. St. Mashdotz was the visionary monk who invented the Armenian Alphabet in the 5th century so that Armenians read the Bible in their own spoken language. Rev. Aharon is therefore, a well-deserved disciple of our Great Saint concluded Catholicos Aram I.
After thanking His Holiness Aram I for honoring him in this way, Rev. Sapsezian spoke of the important contribution of the Catholicosate of Cilicia to Armenian literature and culture, and the very special role of His Holiness Aram I in the ecumenical movement worldwide, to the WCC as Moderator and as Catholicos of Holy See of Cilicia presently located in Lebanon.
The ceremony ended with speeches by the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches and former colleagues and friends of Rev. Aharon Sapsezian.
