The Armenian Prelacy of Canada organized an artistic event to honor the 30th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I on Saturday, October 18, with a numerous attendance.
The opening remarks by Hampig Karayan, delegate to the National Representative Assembly of the Canadian Prelacy, were followed by a keynote speech by Vahakn Karakashian, editor in chief of the Horizon weekly. After an outline of the last seven centuries history of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, he focused on the last thirty years marked by the service of His Holiness, “thirty years of fecund work, love, and dedication” in the service of the Diaspora, Armenia, and Artsakh, and highlighted that “today Armenians as a nation must follow the guideline of nation building by His Holiness Aram I.”
Afterwards, Archbishop Papken, Prelate of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada, introduced the Catholicos, who delivered his message to the audience. He said: “To mark the anniversary of the pontifical service of the Catholicos means to mark the anniversary of the service by the Catholicosate. Catholicos and Catholicosate are a whole, they are identified in an indivisible manner. What the Catholicos executes as service, he does it on behalf of the Catholicosate for more fulfillment of the mission of the Catholicosate and more brilliance of the Church.” He noted that the past 30 years were years of crisis and of realizations. The critical situations confronted in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Armenia impacted greatly on the mission of the Catholicosate: “We clearly expressed our views about those situations and at the same time, by the way of service, we brought our positive and active participation in the solution of issues and the support of our communities.”
There were realizations over the past thirty years in a variety of fields: religious, educational, cultural, social, political, ecumenical, and interreligious, which are all related to each other, His Holiness said.
“In this regard, naturally, Armenia and Artsakh have occupied a special place in Antelias’ mission. Our Holy See, as well as our prelacies have done as much as possible in the social and humanitarian fields. We have constantly raised issues related to Armenia and Artsakh in our external relations, supporting our national values and rights. Our Holy See has clearly and consistently expressed its views and concerns about questions affecting Armenia. The mission of Antelias continues with more momentum and with the same spirit and commitment,” the Catholicos said. He underscored the following: “Antelias does not offer a common service, but is service is filled with dedication to our people. Our people is the source of its power. The service of Antelias was and remains comprehensive and all-national and that service takes its directions from the supreme and general interests and ideals of the homeland and the nation. Antelias has and will always speak clearly, far from ambiguous approaches. The unity of our people and the congregation of the children of our nation around an all-national agenda remain an essential priority for us.”