Pope and Catholicos water tree in symbolic gesture for
Armenian diaspora
(Vatican Radio) In a
symbolic gesture, Pope Francis and the Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II
watered a tree symbolizing Armenia’s many Christians living in the diaspora so
that they may bear fruit, signifying new life. The two Church leaders
took up amphoras at the end of Saturday’s ecumenical prayer for peace in
Yerevan and poured water over the earth which had been gathered by children
residents of Armenia and elsewhere across the world and placed in a vessel
resembling Noah’s Ark.
Armenia is home to Mount
Ararat where, according to legend, Noah landed his Ark after the Great Floods.
Tens of thousands of
Armenia’s Christians fled the country in the 1900s during Ottoman
massacres. On Saturday, Francis paid his respects at Armenia's imposing
genocide memorial and greeted descendants of survivors of the 1915 slaughter.
In the memorial’s guest book, the Pope wrote: ``Here I pray with sorrow in my heart, so that a tragedy like this never again occurs, so that humanity will never forget and will know how to defeat evil with good…May God protect the memory of the Armenian people. Memory should never be watered-down or forgotten. Memory is the source of peace and the future.''
In the memorial’s guest book, the Pope wrote: ``Here I pray with sorrow in my heart, so that a tragedy like this never again occurs, so that humanity will never forget and will know how to defeat evil with good…May God protect the memory of the Armenian people. Memory should never be watered-down or forgotten. Memory is the source of peace and the future.''
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