Pope Visit Ends with Call for Closer Holy See, Armenian Orthodox Ties

YEREVAN - Pope Francis' three-day visit to Armenia that brought thousands of Catholics and Orthodox Christians together in the Armenian capital Yerevan ended Sunday with a call from the Holy See for closer ties between the Roman Catholic and Armenian Orthodox churches.

"May an ardent desire for unity rise up in our hearts, a unity that must not be the submission of one to the other, or assimilation, but rather the acceptance of all the gifts that God has given to each," he said. "Let us pay heed to the younger generation, who seek a future free of past divisions," Pope Francis said while addressing Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Karekin II

Francis also made headlines during his visit after he described the mass killing of more than 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915 as genocide. It was the second time in as many years that Francis has used the term to describe the events of more than one century ago.

Francis first described the events as genocide during a 2015 mass held at the Vatican and dedicated to the centennial of the events.

"The genocide was the first deplorable catastrophe of the past century and was made possible by twisted racial, ideological or religious aims that darkened the minds of the tormentors to the point that they planned the annihilation of entire peoples," Francis said Saturday prior to his visit to the Armenian Genocide Museum where he laid flowers and said a prayer for the victims.

His words drew sharp criticism from Turkey, who vehemently deny that the systemic killing of Armenians during World War I was an act of genocide.

On Saturday. the Pope arrived in Armenia's second largest city Gyumri to meet with representatives of Armenia's largest active Catholic community.

Francis later took part in a joint open-air liturgy at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Echmiadzin, the seat of the Oriental Orthodox Church

At a service held on Yerevan's Republic Square, Francis discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and called on the warring sides to find a peaceful resolution to more than two decades of hostilities.

His trip to the South Caucasus small FRANCIS capped off with a visit to the nation 7 ^Th CENTURY Khor Virap Monastery on the Armenian-Turkish Border.

The monastery holds special significance for followers of both Catholicism and Armenian Orthodoxy as Gregory the Illuminator - a religious leader and patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church, credited with having converted the Armenians to Christianity in 301 AD - was imprisoned at the site of the monastery for 14 years.

The Armenian Apostolic Church acts independently from the Catholic and Orthodox churches, but maintains close ties with both.

Francis' visit to Armenia is the second by a pope since 2001. Pope John Paul II visited Armenia to mark the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia.

By Karen Tovmasyan 

Edited by Nicholas Waller

Photo: David Hakobyan