Born in New York. Raised for Armenia.
Aram Spendjian makes it fashionable to be Armenian—at home and in the homeland
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March 04, 2008
AGBU Attends Dedication of St. Gregory the Illuminator Courtyard at the Vatican
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His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (second from right) presides over the February 22 dedication of the north courtyard of the Vatican Basilica to St. Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia. -
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The official sign at the Vatican Basilica that dedicates the north courtyard to St. Gregory the Illuminator. -
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A statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia overlooks the courtyard that now bears his name. The statue is located at a prominent site that is frequented by tourists to the Vatican. -
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AGBU Europe board member Krikor Istanboulli pays his respects to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI during the official dedication ceremony on February 22, 2008, Vatican City.
On Friday, February 22, 2008, AGBU joined with representatives from various Armenian churches and the local Roman Armenian community to witness His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI dedicate the north courtyard of the Vatican Basilica to St. Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia.
Representing AGBU President Berge Setrakian was AGBU Europe board member, Krikor Istanboulli, who traveled from his home in Milan to attend the noon ceremony.
Over 100 people attended the dedication, including His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics, Rt. Rev. Bishop Norvan Zakarian of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Lyon, Very Rev. Fr. Aren Shahinian of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Milan, and a group of prelates of the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. Also in attendance were the following ambassadors of the Republic of Armenia: H.E. Rouben Shugarian of Italy, H.E. Edward Nalbandian of France, and H.E. Vahan Ter-Ghevondian of Lebanon.
During the ceremony Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that St. Gregory the Illuminator "has made the Armenians, for more than seventeen centuries, a Christian people, and more, the first officially Christian people."
"St. Gregory was called the Illuminator", he said, "precisely because in him the Lord's face is reflected in an extraordinary way."
This honor is the latest gesture by the Vatican to honor the memory of the Armenian saint. In 2004, Pope John Paul II blessed the statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator, which is located by the courtyard that now bears the Armenian saint's name.
"It was a memorable day and a very rare honor for the Roman Pope to honor one of the most sacred figures in the Armenian Church. The dedication of a place so close to the heart of the Roman Catholic Church is a great symbol of respect to Armenians everywhere," Istanboulli said.
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