Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, the Vatican’s substitute of the Secretariat of State, and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan inaugurated the Apostolic Nunciature at a ceremony attended by diplomats and senior clergymen.
“The inauguration of this building demonstrates the solid bilateral relations that already exist between the Republic of Armenia and the Holy See,” Parra said in a speech. “Just a few years ago, Armenia made the welcome decision to open an embassy to the Holy See and to appoint a residential ambassador. Today, the Holy See gladly reciprocates that gesture in the hope that our diplomatic ties will continue to deepen.”
“The good bilateral relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Holy See are due in no small part to our mutual appreciation for the positive role that religion plays in civil society,” he went on. “Armenians are a people of profound faith and this country will always have the distinction of being the first nation to have embraced the Christian faith.”
“As a source of strength and perseverance through good times and bad, the Christian faith helped form the rich spiritual and cultural heritage of Armenia that remains a source of pride today and will continue to inspire and enrich the lives of future generations of Armenians,” added the archbishop.
Mirzoyan, who held talks with Parra earlier in the day, spoke of the “beginning of a new stage of cooperation between Armenia and the Holy See.”
“Armenia's relations with the Vatican have always been marked by a high-level political dialogue based not only on Christian values but also on common historical and religious heritage and similar approaches to the challenges of the modern world,” he said at the ceremony.
Pope Francis and Catholicos Garegin (Karekin) II, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, met as recently as on October 6 during an international conference of religious leaders held in Rome.
Garegin discussed with him the aftermath of last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh. His office said he thanked the pontiff for his “support to the Armenian people and Armenia during the war.”
Francis saluted Armenia for making Christianity an “essential part of its identity” when he visited the South Caucasus nation in June 2016. He and Garegin held an ecumenical liturgy in Yerevan’s central square which attracted thousands of people. They praised the “growing closeness” between their churches in a joint declaration issued at the end of the papal trip.
The Catholic and Armenian churches had essentially ended their long-standing theological differences with a joint statement issued in 1996. In 2001, John Paul II became the first Pope to have ever visited Armenia.
Successive Armenian governments have similarly sought closer ties with the Vatican.