YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–Catholicos of All Armenia’s Garegin II will visit Vatican this November and hold a meeting with John Paul II–the Supreme Patriarch told reporters.
During the visit–the relic of St. Gregory the Illuminator–which is currently kept in Naples–will be handed over to the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Patriarch said that during the meeting no theological issues will be discussed. However–he did not rule out that in their joint statemen’s the leaders of the two churches will address the issue.
The Catholicos of all Armenia’s Garegin II intends to invite Pope John Paul II to Armenia during the visit.
The head of the Armenian Apostlic Church plans to hand the invitation to the Pope when they meet in the Vatican in November.
Garegin II made this known at a press conference in the holy town of Echmiadzin on Saturday.
During the visit to the Vatican–Garegin II plans to discuss bilateral relations and sign a joint statement with the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Cathholicos’s visit to the Vatican will be part of the preparation for festivities marking the 1700th anniversary of adopting Christianity as the state religion in Armenia.
The celebration will start on December 31.