Catholicos Garegin II Receives Delegation of Spiritual Leaders of Iraqi Christian Communities

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Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II today received a delegation of members of the Council of the Spiritual Leaders of Christian Communities of Iraq at the Holy See of Etchmiadzin.
Leading the delegation was Raad Kachachi, head of the Office of Religious Endowments for Christians and Other Religions in Iraq. Archbishop Avak Asadourian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Iraq, also travelled with the delegation to Armenia.

Catholicos Garegin II called for the establishment of peace in the Middle East and told the visiting church leaders that “the Middle East and its peoples were always in his prayers.”

Catholicos Garegin II told the delegation members that he decried the human suffering and destruction in the region and all manifestations of religious intolerance.

The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church noted that while the Armenian people has suffered numerous tragedies and massacres throughout history, they have been reborn with a belief in Christ.

Garegin II said he was confident that the people of Iraq would overcome all obstacles with God’s blessing and assistance.

The church leader noted the centuries-old fraternal relations between the Armenian and Arab people, and thanked the Iraqi authorities for the continued support they have shown towards the Armenian community and church in Iraq.

An Ecumenical Prayer for Peace was then held.

Also in attendance at the reception were Archbishop Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Mosul; Archbishop Jean Benjamin Sleiman, of the Archdiocese of Baghdad of the Catholic Church and General Secretary of the Council; Archbishop Ephrem Yousif Abba Mansoor, of the Diocese of Baghdad of the Syriac Catholic Church and Yusuf Jamil Al-Sagga, a lay member of the Council.

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