JERUSALEM – Archbishop Fouad Twal, accompanied by a delegation of bishops, priests and religious, went on Tuesday morning, Jan. 29 to the Armenian Patriarchate, along with other churches in Jerusalem to greet the recently elected Armenian Patriarch, Archbishop Nourhan Manougian.
The Latin Patriarch conveyed his congratulations to Archbishop Manougian and assured him of“his joy” on his election. Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, the 97th Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church, Jerusalem, was elected on January 24, during the middle of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. A sign which, for the Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, places this election under the emblem of Unity. “Unity, he said this morning in the lounge of the Armenian Patriarchate to all representatives of different churches, and our desire is that of Christ.” His Beatitude then referred to the work that, “together”, the leaders of these two churches of Jerusalem can accomplish.
For its part, the Armenian Patriarch thanked Archbishop Twal, saying that he also wished “a great collaboration between the two churches.” Recall that the Armenian Church shares custody of the holy places with the Greek Orthodox Church, the Latin Catholic Church and the Syriac and Coptic churches. The Patriarch is thus one of the five “Custodians” (guardians) of the holy places.
The delegation accompanying His Latin Beatitude Fouad Twal comprised the auxiliary vicars, Bishop Shomali Jerusalem, Bishop Marcuzzo, Nazareth, Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, auxiliary bishops emeritus Sayegh and Bathish, as well as some priests and religious.
Amélie de La Hougue
