Catholicos of All Armenians Received Ambassador of Israel to the Republic of Armenia
20.09.2016
On 20 September 20, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; received Mr. Shmuel Meirom, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to the Republic of Armenia. The meeting was attended by Mr. Rafael Harpaz, official of the Eurasian desk of the Israeli Foreign Ministry; and His Eminence Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See.
During the meeting His Holiness bid farewell to the Ambassador and expressed his appreciation and gratitude for his efforts to strengthen ties between the two nations during his tenure. His Holiness expressed satisfaction on development of relations between the two countries, assuring that the Armenian Church will put every effort into strengthening them. Specific reference was made to the historical ties and similarities between the two nations, and the Catholicos of All Armenians recounted the establishment of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the 7th century and the formation of the Armenian community. Catholicos Karekin II expressed gratitude to the Israeli authorities for the caring attitude shown towards the community.
His Holiness spoke with regret on the devastating tragedies of the two nations over the last century, the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide; referring to the sincere friendship between the two peoples in the Diaspora.
Ambassador Meirom expressed his gratitude to His Holiness for the attention and warm reception and presented the achievements that had been recorded during his tenure.
At the conclusion of the meeting, His Holiness conveyed his good wishes to the Ambassador, and expressed hope that Mr. Shmuel will continue to contribute to the further strengthening of Armenian-Israeli relations.
