Pope: Christian unity is way to honour witness of martyrdom

May 08, 2014: “The ecumenism of suffering and martyrdom is a powerful ‎reminder to walk along the road of reconciliation between the ‎churches, with determination and trusting abandonment to the ‎Lord,” Pope Francis said in his discourse to Karekin II, Supreme ‎Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, when he visited him in ‎the Vatican on Thursday. The Patriarch is on a 3-day visit to ‎Rome that began on Wednesday. Pope Francis said the ‎number of disciples who shed their blood for Christ in the tragic ‎events of the last ‎century is certainly superior to that of the ‎martyrs of the first centuries, in which the children of the ‎martyrs ‎of the Armenian nation have a place of honour. He acknowledged that the suffering ‎endured by Christians in recent ‎decades have brought an in valuable contribution to the cause of ‎unity ‎among the disciples of Christ. ‎

The Pope thanked ‎Patriarch Karekin for the effective support given to ecumenical ‎dialogue, particularly the work of the Joint Commission for ‎Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental ‎Orthodox Churches. The Pope said the bonds of the ‎Armenian Apostolic Church with the Church of Rome have been ‎consolidated in recent years with reciprocal visits.