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Karekin II told ENI that inter-church relations in Armenia had become "calmer" in recent years. "There were cases in the past where traditional Protestant churches were proselytizing in Armenia, but today, thanks be to God, it has more or less settled."

Today, the Catholicos said, his church's relations with Catholic and Protestant churches were "on the whole ... normal," and the level of cooperation with them was "a source of satisfaction."

But some "extremist evangelical groups," although registered with the Armenian authorities, operated "outside the framework of the law—that is, they are proselytizing, aggressively attacking the Armenian Church and other religious movements.

"Those who confront their Christ the Savior to the Christ the Savior of another church, another confession, do not help Christian faith, but destroy it," the Catholicos said. "In these cases, we have problems."

He stressed, however, that his church was "committed to the ecumenical spirit" and would continue the policies of his predecessor, Catholicos Karekin I, who enjoyed wide respect in the world-wide ecumenical movement.

"Our church is a member church of the World Council of Churches, and we shall take an active part in all its activities and consultations," Karekin II said. "We consider dialogue between different churches very important, because only through understanding each other can we better serve God's people."

He also praised the work of Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia—the other principal branch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Catholicos Aram is a key Orthodox figure in the ecumenical movement and moderator of the World Council of Churches' central committee. (Cilicia is located in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon and has extensive influence over the Armenian diaspora.)

Despite Cold War tensions between the two Armenian Apostolic Catholicosates, relations have improved in recent years. Karekin described his relations with Catholicos Aram and the Cilicia Catholicosate as "mutually brotherly and affectionate."

"It is in this spirit that we want to foster future relations and solve all our past differences," Karekin said.

He also told ENI that over the centuries the Armenian Apostolic Church had formed particularly close relations with the Eastern Orthodox Churches. He described, in particular, relations with the Russian Orthodox Church as "exemplary."

(The Armenian Apostolic Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of churches, separated from much of Christianity in the 5th century by a theological dispute.)

"But we also have close ecumenical relations with the Roman Catholic Church," Karekin II said, dismissing accusations of "Romophilia" leveled against his predecessor, Karekin I, and reported last year in the Armenian press as "false and misleading."

"Our ties with all churches are based on the belief in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church of Christ, and are meant to promote true cooperation," he said.

But he said he would not renew, at least not for now, his predecessor's invitation to Pope John Paul to visit Armenia, nor did he plan to make any immediate high-profile foreign visits himself because of the "enormous task of reorganization" facing him.

"It is too early to speak about any visits, not only to sister churches, but even to my own dioceses," he said.

Despite his many administrative duties, Karekin II said that, like his predecessor, he saw himself first of all as a pastor. "Every spiritual servant who has knelt before the altar and given the vows of priesthood, is a shepherd," Catholicos Karekin II said. "Without pastoral concerns and commitments, one may become an excellent administrator, a great scholar or an admired thinker, but never a priest of the Lord."

Etchmiadzin, the official Web site of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has information about Karekin II's consecration and ordination ceremony (including images), biographical notes about him and his predecessor, preparations for the church's 1700th anniversary, and pages upon pages of information about the church.

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December (Web-only) 1999, Vol. 43