Signing of agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Azerbaijan
(April 30, 2011) The Holy See and the Republic of Azerbaijan signed, Friday, an
agreement, regulating the juridical relations between the Catholic Church and the
State. The Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the region of ., located
at the crossroads of and .. It is the first and in the , established in 1918,
and merged into the Soviet Union in 1920. Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991.
For the Holy See Archbishop Claudio Gugerottti, signed, as Vatican apostolic Nuncio
to that Republic . Representing the Republic of Azerbaigian, was His Excellency Hidayat
Orujov, President of the state Committee for religious affairs. The agreement consists
of eight articles. Among other things they guarantee the right to practice the catholic
religion in public, as also to organize and exercise the church’s proper mission
in keeping with ecclesiastical law. The Church and her institutions are recognized
as a juridical person and its right to freely communicate with the Holy See. It also
permits free access to the social communications media as also the right of the Holy
See to appoint a Bishop to be in charge of the ecclesiastical region and the permission
for Church personnel to reside and work in the Republic. Also present at the signing
was Salesian father Vladimir Fekete, Ecclesiastical superior of the juridically
independent mission of Baku, the capital of the Republic.