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On Friday morning, 10 November, his Holiness Pope John Paul
II and His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos
of All Armenians, presided at a Liturgy of the Word in St Peter's
Basilica, during which the Holy Father returned to the Catholicos
a relic of St Gregory the Illuminator which had been kept for many
years in The convent of St Gregory the Armenian in Naples, Italy.
The Pope greeted the Catholicos in front of the Holy Door in the
atrium of the basilica and then they walked in procession, along
with the relic, to the Altar of the Confession for the liturgical
service. At the end of the sacred rite, the Holy Father gave the
saint's relic to the Catholicos, who symbolically entrusted it to
Bishop Navasard Kjovan, Vicar General of the Diocese of Ararat.
After the Gospel had been chanted in Armenian, the Catholicos gave
a homily and then the Holy Father preached the following homily
in Italian. Here is a translation.
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life
for the sheep" (Jn 10:11).
1. In the year 2001, the Armenian Church will celebrate the 17th
centenary of the Baptism of Armenia through the ministry of St Gregory
the Illuminator. Following the Good Shepherd, St Gregory laid down
his life for his sheep. Because of his Christian faith, he spent
many years imprisoned in a dark pit by command of King Tiridates.
Only after this cruel suffering was Gregory free once again to bear
public witness to his baptismal vocation in all its fullness and
proclaim the Gospel to the men and women of his time.
The life of St Gregory foreshadowed the journey of the Armenian
Church through the ages. How often has the Armenian Church been
cast into the dark of persecution, violence and oblivion! How often
have her children in their prison darkness echoed the words of the
prophet Micah: "But as for me, I look to the Lord. I will wait for
the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not over me,
O my enemy! When I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the
Lord will be my light" (7:7-8). And this not only in the distant
past; the 20th century too has been one of the most tormented in
the history of the Armenian Church, which suffered terrible hardships
of every kind. Now, thank God, there are clear signs of a springtime.
2. In today's celebration, I am delighted to return to Your Holiness
a relic of St Gregory the Illuminator which has been kept in the
Convent of St Gregory the Armenian in Naples, and venerated there
for many centuries. The relic will be placed in the new cathedral
now being built in Yerevan as a symbol of hope and of the Church's
mission in Armenia after so many years of oppression and silence.
A place in the heart of a fast-growing city in which to praise God,
to listen to Sacred Scripture and to celebrate the Eucharist will
be an essential factor of evangelization. I pray that the Holy Spirit
will fill that sacred place with his loving presence, glorious light
and sanctifying grace. My hope is that the new cathedral will adorn
with still greater beauty the Bride of Christ in Armenia, where
the People of God have lived for centuries in the shadow of Mount
Ararat. Through the intercession of the Mother of God and St Gregory
the Illuminator, may the Armenian faithful draw new courage and
confidence from their cathedral. And may the pilgrims coming from
far and wide experience the power of God's light radiating from
that holy shrine as they continue their journey of faith.
3. In the Cathedral of Yerevan, as in all others, there will be
the Altar of the Eucharist and the Patriarchal Chair.
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The Chair and the Altar speak of the communion which already exists
between us. As the Second Vatican Council declared, "all know the
love with which Christians of the East celebrate the Sacred Liturgy,
especially the Eucharist, well-spring of the Church's life and pledge
of future glory, in which the faithful united with the Bishop have
access to God the Father through the Son, the Word Incarnate who
died and was glorified, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit". The
Council Fathers went on to say that the Eastern Churches, "however
separated they may be, have true Sacraments and above all, by virtue
of the Apostolic Succession, the Priesthood and the Eucharist, by
means of which they remain united with us by the closest bonds"
(Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis redintegratio, n. 15). Through history
there have been many contacts between the Catholic Church and the
Armenian Apostolic Church; and there have been various attempts
to restore full communion. Now we must pray and work fervently that
the day will soon come when our sees and the Bishops will be in
full communion once more, when we can celebrate together, at the
same Altar, the Eucharist as the supreme sign and source of unity
in Christ. Until that day dawns, each of our Eucharistic celebrations
will suffer the absence of the brother who is not yet there.
4. Dear and venerable Brother in Christ, St Paul speaks to us in
the words we have heard from the Acts of the Apostles: "Take heed
to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to care for the Church of God, which he acquired
with his own blood" (20:28). Ours is a great responsibility. Christ
has entrusted to our pastoral care that which is most precious to
him on earth: "the Church which he acquired with his own blood".
I beg the Lord, through the intercession of St Gregory the Illuminator,
to pour out his abundant blessings upon you, my Brothers in the
Episcopate, and upon all the Pastors of the Apostolic Armenian Church.
May the Spirit inspire and guide you in your pastoral ministry to
the Armenian people, both in the land of your birth and throughout
the world. To your fraternal prayer I entrust my own ministry as
Bishop of Rome: that I may be able to exercise this ministry more
and more as "a service of love recognized by all concerned" (Encyclical
Letter Ut unum sint, n. 95), so that all will at last be one (cf.
Jn 17:21).
5. Let me conclude with the fervent plea which I made to the Mother
of God 13 years ago, during the Marian Year, and which rises from
my heart again today:
"O holy Mother of God, ... look upon the land of Armenia, upon
its mountains, where a countless host of holy and Learned monks
have lived; look upon its churches, upon the, rocks which rise from
rocks, filled with the radiance of the Trinity; look upon the "stone
crosses, memorials of your Son, whose Passion continues in the suffering
of the martyrs. Watch over the sons and daughters of Armenia throughout
the world.... Inspire the desires and hopes of the young, that they
remain always proud of their origins. Grant that, wherever they
may go, they will listen to their Armenian heart, for in those depths
there will always be a prayer to their Lord and a sense of surrender
to you who cover them with your mantle of refuge. O most sweet Virgin,
O Mother of Christ and Mother of us all, Mary" (Homily, Divine Liturgy
in the Armenian Rite, 21 November 1987). Amen.
L'osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition, 15 November 2000
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