President held meeting with Archbishop of Vienna and President of Austrian Bishops’ Conference Christoph Schonborn

On the second day of his official visit to the Republic of Austria, June 12, President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with the Archbishop of Vienna and the President of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference Christoph Schonborn.

The interlocutors stated with satisfaction that the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church have always maintained high-level relations which have acquired a new meaning since the RA Independence. Serzh Sargsyan underscored that Armenia is greatly interested in promoting multidimensional collaboration with Austria and stressed the role of the cooperation between the Armenian Apostolic and the Armenian Catholic Churches in reinforcing the friendship of the two peoples.

The president noted that being the president of the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion he takes every opportunity to meet with local spiritual leaders during his foreign visits. According to Serzh Sargsyan, Armenians perfectly remember the great impressions Pope Saint John Paul II received during his visit to Armenia in 2001 when the Armenian people celebrated the 1700th anniversary of adopting Christianity in Armenia. The president mentioned that it is both valuable and important for Armenians that Pope Saint John Paul II of blessed memory officially recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide (in his statement made in Vatican in 2000 and in the other statement made jointly with the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II in Holy Etchmiadzin in 2001).

The interlocutors attached great importance to establishing an embassy of the Republic of Armenia in the Holy See targeted at developing the relations between the Armenian Apostolic and the Armenian Catholic Churches.

The RA President and the Archbishop of Vienna, the President of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference Christoph Schonborn stated with satisfaction that close ties have been established with the Austrian Catholic Church in the framework of which a number of joint educational and cultural programs have been implemented.

At the end of the meeting, President Serzh Sargsyan thanked the Archbishop of Vienna and the Austrian government for displaying a positive attitude towards and rendering assistance to the Armenian community.

In Vienna, President Serzh Sargsyan paid tribute to the memory of the Austrian writer and humanitarian Franz Werfel by laying a wreath at his memorial.