As part of the visit of His Beatitude Abp. Sahak II to the Eastern Diocese, the 85th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople was guest of honor at a luncheon of New York’s ecumenical leaders, at the St. Vartan Cathedral complex in New York.
Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan hosted the gathering on Thursday, June 26, where distinguished guests included the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan; Greek Orthodox Archbishop of the U.S., Archbishop Elpidophoros; Primate the Syriac Orthodox Church in the U.S., Archbishop John Kawak; Primate of the Ethiopian Church of New York, Archbishop Abuna Petrus; Bishop Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church; and leaders of the Coptic Church and Antiochian Orthodox Church.
Diocesan Vicar Fr. Simeon Odabashian, Fr. Haroutiun Damadian of there Istanbul Patriarchate, Cathedral Vicar Fr. Davit Karamanyan, and Fr. Armash Bagdasarian of the Diocese’s St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church in Wynnewood, PA, also participated.
In welcoming remarks, Bishop Mesrob observed that the current visit was patriarch Sahak’s first to the Diocese since his enthronement in 2019, and had generated enthusiasm within the faithful. He noted that Patriarch Sahak was well-known among his fellow churchmen on the international level, and the present occasion was an opportunity to introduce him to the church leaders of the U.S.
The sister church leaders expressed their respect for the guest of honor and conveyed their love and solidarity with the greater Armenian Church and its Mother See.
Patriarch Sahak, in gracious closing remarks, extolled the fundamental unity of mission in the Eastern and Western churches–especially the ancient traditions that derive from the Apostolic mission–to shepherd the faithful people entrusted to them. He said that the present historical moment calls for a rediscovery of, and recommitment to, the spirit of unity in Christ that first energized the Christian movement 2,000 years ago.
Finally, he thanked his fellow church leaders for the warm generosity shown to him during the luncheon, and prayed for their continuing ministries to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Patriarch presented each guest with a copy of his volume, “The Fundamental Teachings of Christianity” recently published in Istanbul.