[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21718-21719]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              THE PONTIFICAL VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to recognize the 
Pontifical Visit of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House 
of Cilicia, to my home State of California in October, 2005.
  The Catholicos represents the Great House of Cilicia, an historic 
Armenian religious center established in 1441. The Catholicosate was 
relocated to Antelias, Lebanon following the atrocities of the Armenian 
Genocide, which included destruction of houses of worship in Cilicia. 
Today, His Holiness

[[Page 21719]]

Aram I represents hundreds of thousands of Armenian American 
Christians, as well as Armenians across the Near East. The Armenian 
faith is 1,700 years old and it is significant that Armenia was the 
first nation to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion in 
301 AD.
  The Catholicos' spiritual, cultural and educational influence extends 
well beyond the Armenian people. His Holiness Aram I, who holds a 
Master of Divinity, a Master of Sacred Theology, a Ph.D., and several 
honorary degrees, has authored numerous articles and texts in Armenian, 
English and French, some of which have been translated into other 
languages. The Catholicos has worked to strengthen interfaith relations 
between Christian and Muslim communities. In 1974, the Catholicos was 
one of the founding members of the Middle East Council of Churches.
  His Holiness Aram I was elected as Moderator of the Central and 
Executive Committees of the World Council of Churches, WCC, a renowned 
organization which represents over 400 million Christians worldwide. 
The WCC brings together over 340 churches and denominations in more 
than 100 countries throughout the world. The Catholicos is the first 
Orthodox, first Middle Easterner and youngest person to hold this 
position and his unanimous re-election as Moderator in 1998 was 
exceptional in the history of the WCC.
  During his trip to California, which is titled ``Towards the Light of 
Knowledge,'' the Catholicos will visit churches as well as educational 
and cultural institutions in Los Angeles, Fresno and San Francisco. 
This momentous visit was initiated by His Eminence, Archbishop Moushegh 
Mardirossian of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of 
America to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide 
and the 1600th Anniversary of the creation of the Armenian alphabet.
  I am honored to recognize this milestone visit to California by a 
distinguished Armenian and world leader. I wish both the Catholicos and 
the Armenian community in California a renewed sense of purpose and 
inspiration from this visit.

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