A delegation from the ADL Lebanon Regional Board, headed by Dr. Avetis Dagesyan and accompanied by colleagues Dr. Joseph Krpoyan, Levon Barseghyan and Vigen Tosunyan, participated in the enthronement ceremony of Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphael Petros XXI, which took place at the Armenian Catholic See of St. Gregory the Illuminator-St. Elias Church. Attending the ceremony were representatives of the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia, representatives of all Christian communities in Lebanon, representatives of sister churches, and representatives of all Armenian political parties and unions. Notable was the participation of the representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill, in this ceremony. The soul-stirring ceremony became a celebration of all-Lebanese and pan-Armenian love and brotherhood.
The enthronement ceremony was presided over by the Administrator of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate and Archbishop of the Diocese of Beirut, His Eminence Archbishop Petros Miriatyan, surrounded by Synodal fathers. During the ceremony, the Gospel was read in Arabic by the Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch. The Maronite Patriarch Rahi also took part in the Gospel reading. The greeting message of Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia was delivered by the Primate of Lebanon, Archbishop Shahe Panosyan. Greetings were also delivered by representatives of various religious communities and the Pope of Rome.
At the end of the ceremony, the newly enthroned Patriarch received congratulations. Dagesyan, on behalf of the ADL Central and Lebanon Regional Boards, congratulated the Spiritual Lord and wished him a long and successful tenure.
The following day, a delegation from the ADL Lebanon Regional Board, headed by Dr. Avetis Dagesyan and accompanied by colleagues Dr. Joseph Krpoyan, Dr. Sahak Tashjian and Vache Donerian, visited the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate and congratulated the Spiritual Lord on the occasion of his assumption of office. They wished that the tenure of the Most Reverend Patriarch be smooth in these difficult conditions. The delegation left the Patriarchate spiritually fulfilled, having heard the positive and hopeful words of the Spiritual Lord.
V. Tosunyan
Beirut, 25 October 2021
