Armenia's Ambassador to the Vatican Mikayel Minasyan

Official Unveiling of Statue of St. Gregory of Narek at the Vatican on April 5

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VATICAN CITY (Armenpress) — The official inaugural ceremony of the bronze statue of St. Gregory of Narek will be held in the Vatican on April 5, the Italian Catholic news service ACI Stampa reports.

The author of the article, Andrea Gagliarducci, writes that according to some non-official reports, the inaugural ceremony of the statue will be attended by Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan, Pope Francis and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.

“The inaugural ceremony of the statue of St. Gregory of Narek will be another tangible sign of high-level relations of the Catholic and the Armenian Apostolic churches which further strengthened during Pope Francis’ visit to Armenia — the First Christian Nation, in 2016. Pope Francis aims at having excellent relations with the Armenian community,” Gagliarducci wrote.

 

St. Gregory of Narek

The article also noted that during the discussion on erecting the statue the representatives of the Armenian Apostolic church had high-level meetings at the Vatican.

On March 21 Armenia’s Ambassador to the Vatican Mikayel Minasyan released details over the works on erecting the statue of St. Gregory of Narek.

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Minasyan said on Facebook that during Pope Francis’ visit to Armenia in June 2016 Sargsyan gave a small statue of St. Gregory of Narek to the Pope as a symbol of his pilgrimage to the first Christian country. While handing the statue to Pope Francis, Sargsyan expressed hope that its bigger version would be erected at the Vatican. The Pope liked the statue, thanked the President and gave his approval.

“After a short period of time the creative team led by People’s Artist of Armenia, sculptor Davit Yerevantsi started the work. Architect Mikayel Hasratyan and project manager Vardan Karapetyan actively engaged in the process, and my friend Artur Janibekyan, who is a true devotee, joined me by becoming the second benefactor of the statue. Thanks to the hard work of the creative team the two-meter bronze statue of St. Gregory of Narek was created in the Czech Republic and its placement in Vatican’s parks completed today,” the ambassador said.

 

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