[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21313-21314]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                PONTIFICAL VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join the Armenian 
American community in welcoming the upcoming Pontifical visit of His 
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. The Pontiff 
will be visiting the State of California this October at the invitation 
of His Eminence, Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western 
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America.
  His Holiness is one of the most prominent Christian leaders in the

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Middle East and a spiritual leader for hundreds of thousands of 
Armenians around the world. The Pontiff presently serves as the 
Moderator for the World Council of Churches which is comprised of more 
than 340 churches from different cultures and countries around the 
world representing over 400 million Christians. Currently serving his 
second term, His Holiness is the first Orthodox and the youngest person 
to be elevated to Moderator.
  The theme of the Pontiff's visit is ``Towards the Light of 
Knowledge.'' This theme reflects the Pontiff's faith that only with 
greater education and dialogue can the world's conflicts be addressed 
properly.
  I take this opportunity to not only thank The Pontiff for his time 
and worthy endeavors in California, but also thank the sizable Armenian 
community which has been actively contributing to the California 
culture and economy since 1878. California cities of Los Angeles and 
Glendale are home to the second and third largest populations of 
Armenians outside of Armenia and are important members of their 
communities serving as business leaders and city council members.

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