- Karekin II
Catholicos Karekin II ( _hy. Գարեգին Բ) is the current head of the Holy
Armenian Apostolic Church .He was born as Ktrij Nersessian in Voskehat,
Armenia on August 21, 1951. He entered the Gevorkian Theological Seminary atEchmiadzin in 1965 and graduated with honors in 1971. He was ordained to the diaconatedeacon in 1970. Later he became amonk and was ordained a celibatepriest in 1972. In the late 1970s the Catholicos of that period encouraged him to study outside of Armenia. This led to him continuing his studies inVienna ,Bonn University , andZagorsk ,Russia . On October 23, 1983 he was consecrated bishop atEchmiadzin . He became an archbishop in 1992.In 1988 he took an active role in helping his people overcome the
Armenian earthquake . He has built a number of churches and schools. He also showed an interest in using modern technology and telecommunications to help the life of his churches as well as dealing with the legacies of the Soviet era. In 1999 he was electedCatholicos of All Armenians at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, succeeding His Holiness,Karekin I . His relations withPope John Paul II were generally positive. When the Pope visited Armenia in 2001, he stayed with the Catholicos.In 2006 Karekin made a weeklong visit to
Istanbul ,Turkey , to meet with Ecumenical PatriarchBartholomew I and to bless the city's Armenian community. During his visit he caused some controversy by affirming theArmenian Genocide , which Turkey vehemently denies, and insisting on its recognition.In October 2007 he began a second visit to the
United States . [cite web
url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/10/08/armenian_church_leader_brings_touch_of_grace/
title=Armenian church leader brings touch of grace: Karekin II urges N.E. to protect faith, identity
first=Peter
last=Schworm
publisher=The Boston Globe
date=2007-10-08]On October 10, 2007, he offered the opening prayer for the day's session of the United States House of Representatives.
References
External links
* [http://www.armenianchurch.org Official Website of His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II & Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin]
* [http://66.208.37.78/index.jsp?sid=1&id=161&pid=14 Catholicos Karekin II]
* [http://66.208.37.78/index.jsp?sid=3&nid=389&lng=en&y=2005&m=9&d=8 Encyclical from Catholicos Karekin II]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
