Pope Francis in Etchmiadzin: 'We Have Embraced as Brothers'

At a Divine Liturgy with the Armenian Apostolic Church, Pope Francis has made a heartfelt appeal for unity, saying the two churches have “embraced as brothers” and “believe and experience that the Church is one.”

In his address on Sunday in Etchmiadzin, where the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church is located, the Holy Father called on the Holy Spirit to “re-establish us in unity” so that “communion between us [may] be complete.”

He said a unity must be sought that is not about “submission of one to the other, or assimilation, but rather the acceptance of all the gifts that God has given to each.”  

He also urged both churches to “respond to the appeal of the saints” to listen to the “voices of the humble and the poor, of the many victims of hatred who suffered and gave their lives for the faith.” In particular, he stressed the importance of heeding the desires of “the younger generation who seek a future free of past divisions” (see full text of the Pope’s discourse below).

As Catholics are unable to receive Communion in the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Pope had already celebrated Sunday Mass privately. Members of his entourage received bread that had been blessed but not consecrated. 

Reflecting on today's liturgy and the other joint acts of worship during the trip, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said today's liturgy was the "top ecumenical" moment of the visit, and that ecumenism was the "first important element" of the trip as a whole. "We have experienced a sense of respect and adoration before the Sacrament", he said, and there has been a good exchange of "spiritual gifts." 

He noted that elements of the Apostolic Church's liturgy "come together" because the last Gospel read by the celebrant has "elements taken from Catholic tradition several centuries ago." In this sense, he said, "we have in this liturgy a sign of interchange in prayer." 

Father Lombardi also noted how the Pope asked the Catholicos to give him and the Catholic Church a blessing, something he has done with other Christian leaders as a "sign of communion and receiving the blessing mutually." 

Some wondered why the Pope was wearing a stole with Benedict XVI's coat of arms on it. Father Lombardi said it had a meaning of "communion" and stressed it was common for popes to wear the crests of their predecessors as a "sign of continuity." In this sense, he said, it is "absolutely normal." 

Significance of Etchmiadzin 

Etchmiadzin may not be well known to most Christians, but it has considerable significance in Christian history. The Mayr Tachar cathedral in Etchmiadzin was built between 301 and 303, making it the oldest Christian religious building in Armenia. Moreover, it is the first church in the world to have been built with state consent: it was completed 12 years before the Edict of Milan when Constantine put an end to persecution in the Roman Empire and preceded the Edict of Thessaloniki in 380, when Christianity became the empire’s official religion.

In Armenian history dating from the fifth century, the historian Agatangelo handed down the legend that, thanks to a vision of Christ coming down from the heavens and hitting the ground with a golden hammer, St. Gregory the Illuminator was shown where the cathedral ought to be located. The term Etchmiadzin means "the Only Begotten Descended One", in reference to St. Gregory’s vision.

Construction of the cathedral began in 301, when King Tiridates III recognized Christianity as the religion of the Kingdom of Armenia. The cathedral is dedicated to the Theotokos (Mother of God) and Etchmiadzin houses a number of priceless relics including the “Holy Lance of Antioch”, also known as the “Holy Spear of Destiny”, thought to be the spear that pierced Jesus on the Cross,  wood fragments believed to be part of Noah's Ark, and various relics belonging to the apostles Peter, Andrew and Jude.


Courtyard of the Apostolic Palace

Participation in the Divine Liturgy

Your Holiness, Dear Bishops, Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At the end of this greatly-desired visit, one already unforgettable for me, I join my gratitude to the Lord with the great hymn of praise and thanksgiving that rose from this altar. Your Holiness, in these days you have opened to me the doors of your home, and we have experienced “how good and pleasant it is when brothers live in unity” (Ps 133:1). We have met, we have embraced as brothers, we have prayed together and shared the gifts, hopes and concerns of the Church of Christ. We have felt as one her beating heart, and we believe and experience that the Church is one. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6). With great joy we can make our own these words of the Apostle Paul! Our meeting comes under the aegis of the holy Apostles whom we have encountered. Saints Bartholomew and Thaddeus, who first proclaimed the Gospel in these lands, and Saints Peter and Paul who gave their lives for the Lord in Rome and now reign with Christ in heaven, surely rejoice to see our affection and our tangible longing for full communion. For all this, I thank the Lord, for you and with you: Park astutsò! (Glory to God!).

During this Divine Liturgy, the solemn chant of the Trisagion rose to heaven, acclaiming God’s holiness. May abundant blessings of the Most High fill the earth through the intercession of the Mother of God, the great saints and doctors, the martyrs, especially the many whom you canonized last year in this place. May “the Only Begotten who descended here” bless our journey. May the Holy Spirit make all believers one heart and soul; may he come to re-establish us in unity. For this I once more invoke the Holy Spirit, making my own the splendid words that are part of your Liturgy. Come, Holy Spirit, you “who intercede with ceaseless sighs to the merciful Father, you who watch over the saints and purify sinners”, bestow on us your fire of love and unity, and “may the cause of our scandal be dissolved by this love” (Gregory of Narek, Book of Lamentations, 33, 5), above all the lack of unity among Christ’s disciples.

May the Armenian Church walk in peace and may the communion between us be complete. 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. This will reveal to the entire world the great mystery of salvation accomplished by Christ the Lord through the Holy Spirit” (Greeting at the end of the Divine Liturgy, Patriarchal Church of Saint George, Istanbul, 30 November 2014).

Let us respond to the appeal of the saints, let us listen to the voices of the humble and poor, of the many victims of hatred who suffered and gave their lives for the faith. Let us pay heed to the younger generation, who seek a future free of past divisions. From this holy place may a radiant light shine forth once more, and to the light of faith, which has illumined these lands from the time of Saint Gregory, your Father in the Gospel, may there be joined the light of the love that forgives and reconciles.

Just as on Easter morning the Apostles, for all their hesitations and uncertainties, ran towards the place of the resurrection, drawn by the blessed dawn of new hope (cf. Jn 20:3-4), so too on this holy Sunday may we follow God’s call to full communion and hasten towards it.

Now, Your Holiness, in the name of God, I ask you to bless me, to bless me and the Catholic Church, and to bless this our path towards full unity.

 ___________________

Photos: Edward Pentin for NCRegister/CNA