(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis arrives in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Friday afternoon for his 14th foreign pastoral visit. He’ll be spending three days in the country, travelling to the nearby town of Etchmiadzin, seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as to the northern city of Gyumri and to the famous Khor Virap monastery on the border with Turkey.Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as the state religion at the beginning of the fourth century and the great majority of people in the country today belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church which is part of the Oriental Orthodox family.Relations with other Christian communities, including the small Armenian Catholic and Roman Catholic Churches, are very good and Pope Francis will be focusing on the importance of ecumenical dialogue and action at a prayer service on Saturday in Yerevan’s Republic Square.To find out more, Philippa Hitchen spoke to Fr John Barker who heads the tiny Anglican communit...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis arrives in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Friday afternoon for his 14th foreign pastoral visit. He’ll be spending three days in the country, travelling to the nearby town of Etchmiadzin, seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as to the northern city of Gyumri and to the famous Khor Virap monastery on the border with Turkey.
Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as the state religion at the beginning of the fourth century and the great majority of people in the country today belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church which is part of the Oriental Orthodox family.
Relations with other Christian communities, including the small Armenian Catholic and Roman Catholic Churches, are very good and Pope Francis will be focusing on the importance of ecumenical dialogue and action at a prayer service on Saturday in Yerevan’s Republic Square.
To find out more, Philippa Hitchen spoke to Fr John Barker who heads the tiny Anglican community in Armenia and represents the Archbishop of Canterbury for relations with the Armenian Apostolic Church….
Listen:
Fr John says there is an impressive level of warmth, agreement and mutual understanding in Armenia between all the different Churches.
He says the people have a dual hope for this papal visit: firstly that the memory of the genocide, a century ago, will be brought back into the public eye. But “just as importantly” he says, there is a hope that “it will show again that we have the potential to speak as one Christian voice, irrespective of whether we come from an Apostolic, a Catholic or an Anglican background.
The Armenian Church today, he continues, have a “very significant voice” in public life, since around 95% of people are members of the Church and around half of those practice their faith on a regular basis.
null / Credit: Peter Hermes Furian via ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Apr 19, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on April 19 condemned the kidnapping and murder of a catechist in Burkina Faso, West Africa.In a news brief, ACN informed ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, that catechist Edouard Yougbare was kidnapped on Thursday night by "terrorists, and his lifeless body was found near Zigni this morning."According to other local sources, along with Yougbare, who was a member of Saatenga parish in Fada Gourma, Burkina Faso, more people were kidnapped and murdered."We are heartbroken by the loss of Yougbare. He served his community faithfully and his death is a devastating blow for the people of Saatenga," lamented Spaniard María Lozano, press and public relations director of ACN International."Catechists in Burkina Faso are on the front lines, risking their lives for the good of their people. Just two months ago, ano...
Pope Francis addresses the faithful at his Wednesday general audience on March 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Apr 19, 2024 / 10:07 am (CNA).In the latest move in Pope Francis' reform of the Vatican judiciary, the pope issued a new motu proprio on Friday on the retirement age and benefits for cardinal judges and magistrates in the Vatican's court system.The April 19 motu proprio states that Vatican magistrates will retire at the end of the judicial year in which they turn 75 and cardinal judges at the age of 80, unless Pope Francis asks them to remain in office beyond the age limit.Magistrates and judges who wish to resign from office before the retirement age can only do so with the approval of the pope.The pope also has the prerogative to dismiss magistrates unable to fulfill their duties at any time. Upon the termination of their duties, magistrates will retain the rights to assistance and welfare provided to Vatican citizens and employees.The motu proprio, wh...
Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow announced on April 14, 2024, the decision to begin the process of beatification and canonization of Helena Agnieszka Kmiec, a young lay missionary murdered in Bolivia in 2017. / Credit: The Helena Kmiec FoundationACI Prensa Staff, Apr 19, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow, Poland, announced the decision to begin the process of beatification and canonization of Helena Agnieszka Kmiec, a young lay missionary murdered in Bolivia in 2017.The prelate said that after the preliminary phase began in December 2022, he made the decision to officially open the process for Kmiec after having consulted the Polish Bishops' Conference and receiving the go-ahead from the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints."With this edict I call on all those who have any document, letter, or information about the Servant of God, both positive and negative, to send them to the Metropolitan Curia of Krakow before June 30," the archbish...
