MESSAGGIO DEL CARDINALE SANDRI PER LA RICONSACRAZIONE DELLA CATTEDRALE DI ETCHMIADZIN

27 settembre 2024

TO HIS HOLINESS KAREKIN II

Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians

Your Holiness,

It is a profound joy for me to be with you for the re-consecration of Holy Etchmiadzin Cathedral and the blessing of the Holy Myron. On this this momentous day, I am honoured to convey the prayerful best wishes of His Holiness Pope Francis, who has asked me to represent him, and to assure you and the entire Armenian Apostolic Church of his spiritual closeness.

Together with Your Holiness, and the bishops, clergy and faithful of the Catholicosate of All Armenians, I pray that in these times of enduring suffering for the Armenian people, these celebrations may be an invitation to build our personal and communal existence on the Rock of Christ, and to let Him pour on our wounds the oil of consolation. May the oil consecrated by the Holy Spirit be a balm that brings comfort, like that of the Good Samaritan, soothing the pain of past memories and opening the way to a future of renewed hope, so that all anointed with it may be the aroma of Christ (cf. 2 Cor 2:15).

May the Holy Spirit descend upon the Armenian Apostolic Church once again, as he descended upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, and may this celebration be a joyful expression of the continuity and unity of the Armenian Church, as symbolised during the ritual preparation of the new Myron.

On this solemn occasion, I pray for peace and prosperity for Armenia and all Armenians, so that they may continue to bear witness to Christ, as they have always done throughout the centuries. Strengthened by the intercession of the Armenian saints, martyrs and doctors, may they always proclaim their faith with song and praise: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endures forever” (Ps 107:1).

In this year in which Your Holiness celebrates the 25th anniversary of your election and enthronement, I also give thanks to God for the patriarchal ministry that you have carried out with great dedication and courage throughout these years. On behalf of the Holy See, I would like to express deep appreciation of the efforts of Your Holiness to strengthen relations between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church and pray that they may be further deepened and developed. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide and inspire us on our journey towards the full communion for which Christ prayed!

With these sentiments, I renew the prayerful greeting of Pope Francis, who extends to Your Holiness a fraternal embrace.