Catholicos of All Armenians Received Rector of Moscow State Pedagogical University

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin – May 2016

On 15 May, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; received academician Alexey Semyonov, Rector of the Moscow State Pedagogical University and his delegation. They were accompanied by Professor Ruben Mirzakhanyan, rector of Yerevan State Pedagogical University.

During the meeting, Mr. Mirzakhanyan, asking for the blessing of the Catholicos of All Armenians, presented to His Holiness the collaboration between the two educational institutions and the joint projects and activities undertaken in support of the educational processes.

His Holiness, on the occasion of the initiative, conveyed his appreciation to the guests and highlighted the strengthening and improvement of relations between the two educational institutions, and stressed that they must be consistent with the spirit of the age-old friendship between the two peoples.

His Holiness expressed satisfaction for the emerging partnership in the educational sector, then reflected on the historical role of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church in th organization of education and the current activities in the educational sector.

His Holiness noted with appreciation that the Mother See closely cooperates with the Ministry of Education and Science, and are implementing joint initiatives. The Catholicos of All Armenians conveyed information about the activities of the two secondary schools and Youth centers operating under the auspices of Mother See, and as well as various higher education institutions, among them the current cooperation with the Yerevan State Pedagogical University.

His Holiness also reflected on the existing warm relations and cooperation between the Armenian Apostolic and Russian Orthodox Churches, within which an exchange of students is implemented between the religious educational institutions

Mr. Semyonov, stressed the importance of his visit to the Republic of Armenia and spoke about the comprehensive educational work implemented with the students, particularly the active involvement of students in the field of social service.

Rector Semyonov discussed the strong ties between the University and the Russian Orthodox Church, emphasizing the priority of the transmission of spiritual values, parallel to knowledge, in the education sector.

During the meeting, the rector also expressed his concern on the recent Nagorno-Karabakh border problems.

Attending the meeting was His Eminence Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See.

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