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.