Catholicos of All Armenians Received Newly Appointed US Ambassador to Armenia
On February 24, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; received Richard Mills; the newly appointed Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Armenia.
His Holiness conveyed his gratitude to the US Ambassador and expressed confidence that the kind relations and cooperation established between the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the US Embassy will continue during his tenure.
Reflecting on the Armenian-American intergovernmental relations, the Catholicos of All Armenians expressed gratitude to the US people and authorities for the support provided to the Armenian nation. His Holiness also expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the US within the OSCE Minsk Group for the purpose of the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict.
Asking for the Lord’s blessing, His Holiness wished for the mission of the newly appointed Ambassador to promote the strengthening of the friendship between the two nations, as well as the development cooperation between the two countries in various fields.
The US ambassador expressed his happiness on the occasion of the meeting, and presented the range of programs implemented as a result of Armenian-American cooperation.
During the meeting Catholicos of All Armenians and the US Ambassador also discussed the important mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church in the life of the Armenian nation, the warm relations with Sister Churches, as well as to a number of challenges facing the Homeland and the Church.
Particular reference was made to the efforts exerted by the Church for a peaceful resolution of conflicts around the world, as a result of ecumenical cooperation as well as was spoken about the organized meetings with religious leaders towards the establishment peace in the region.
His Holiness informed Ambassador Mills about the events dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and the Canonization ceremony for the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide to be held on 23 April in Mother See.
The meeting was attended by His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian; Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenia Church of North America; His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian; Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America; and His Eminence Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the Department of External Relations and Protocol for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
