Pilgrims from Australia and New Zealand Received by His Holiness Karekin II at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
08.06.2025
On June 8, at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, received a group of pilgrims from the Armenian Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, accompanied by the Honorable Father Khacher Harutyunyan, Pastor of the Holy Mother of God Church of Melbourne.
The Honorable Father Khacher conveyed to His Holiness that, before arriving in Armenia, the pilgrims had embarked upon a sacred journey to the historic lands of Western Armenia.
Now, having come to their ancestral homeland, they had made a pilgrimage to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to receive the paternal blessing of the Catholicos of All Armenians.
Bestowing his patriarchal blessing upon the faithful, His Holiness expressed profound satisfaction at the steadfast devotion to the homeland and the Holy Church manifested by the Armenian community of Australia.
He further noted that such pilgrimages, organized by the dioceses of the Armenian Diaspora, serve as a source of spiritual fortitude and encouragement for their brethren residing in the homeland, especially in these trying and challenging times for the people.
In this regard, the Catholicos of All Armenians exhorted the pilgrims, within the scope of their visit, to seek out opportunities to meet with the forcibly displaced Armenians of Artsakh, thereby gaining a personal understanding of the trials they now face and extending to them support and solidarity.
In conclusion, His Holiness offered his prayerful wish that Almighty God may ever preserve and protect the pilgrims beneath the shelter of His divine love and providential care.
