“The Christian Witness in the Middle East and the Armenian Church”

A group of students attending the Near East School of Theology from various countries visited the Catholicosate of Cilicia on 14 January 2006 to listen to a lecture by Bishop Nareg Alemezian (Ecumenical Officer in the Catholicosate of Cilicia), entitled ?The Christian Witness in the Middle East and the Armenian Church?.

 

Dr. George Sabra, the head of the student group, introduced the students from Syria, Jordan, Germany, Norway, Denmark and the United States, stating that the purpose of their visit was to get to know the Armenian Church, one of Middle East?s unique churches, more closely through personal experience.

 

Bishop Nareg talked about the principal stages of the history of the Armenian Church and the main aspects of Armenian theology.

 

The students mainly asked questions about the role played by the Catholicosate of Cilicia in the process of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the difficulties the Armenian Diaspora faces in the preservation of its national and religious identities.

 

The students visited the St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, the Martyrs? Chapel and the ?Cilicia? museum.

         

About the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon:

The Near East School of Theology, formed in 1932, is an interdenominational Protestant theological seminary serving the Evangelical churches of the Middle East and African churches. It hosts international students who have a special interest in Biblical and Islamic studies in a Middle Eastern context or those especially interested in the Ancient churches. It is located not far from the American University of Beirut.

 

Useful URL: http://www.pcusa.org/globaled/institutionlist/beirut.htm

 

Source: Catholicosate of Cilicia (www.cathcil.org)