Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia Visited Pope Tawadros II
Gerges Mounir Hanna – OCP News Service – 06/03/2024
Cairo – Egypt: His Holiness Pope Tawadros II received at the papal residence in Cairo on March 05,2024, Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, and his accompanying delegation.
His Holiness the Pope expressed his welcome to his guest and the accompanying delegation, noting that Egypt is a country with a long history, and it is the country that opened its doors to receive Jesus Christ and the Holy Family in the first century AD, and also opened its doors for Armenians to live there and integrate into Egyptian society, and His Holiness Nubar Pasha, the first president, mentioned Ministers to Egypt, who was of Armenian origin, as well as Bagos Bey, the first foreign minister of Egypt. At the ecclesiastical level, His Holiness the Pope mentioned Saint Gregory the Armenian, whom the Church mentions in church prayers, as well as Saint Arpsima the Armenian, who is well-known in the Coptic Church, so that most of the Coptic monasteries have nuns. They bear the name “Arabsima”.
His Holiness the Pope praised the relations between the Coptic and Armenian churches and the love that unites His Holiness and His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II, Catholicos of the All-Armenian Orthodox Church in Etchmiadzin, and His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of Kashishian, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon. His Holiness referred to his visit to Armenia in 2015.
For his part, Mr. Nikol Pashinyan expressed his happiness at visiting the Coptic Orthodox Church and meeting His Holiness the Pope, praising the good relationship between the Coptic and Armenian churches. His Excellency praised the antiquity of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the lofty spiritual values that it has maintained throughout its long history.
The Armenian Prime Minister praised his meeting with His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, describing it as taking place in a very positive atmosphere.
Source: Coptic Orthodox Church
OCP News Service