The four musts: Faithfulness to Church, Nation and Culture, Justice for Armenian Genocide victims

A three-day conference dedicated to the 400 years of Armenian presence in New Julfa was held at Ararat Community Hall. The conference opened on October 21 in the presence of the Governor and Vice Governor of Isfahan, the Head of Religious Affairs, the President of Isfahan University and Professors of Yerevan University (Armenia).

In his opening message, His Holiness Aram I congratulated the organisers for the timely event on the theme,” New Julfa, the Symbol of Conviviality among the Three Monotheistic Religions.”

Addressing the presence of Armenians in New Julfa, the Catholicos spoke of the rich experience of Armenians, which he said has been well documented in the literature. He added, however, that more scientific research should be encouraged in order to highlight the mutually enriching experience of the two people. Referring to the theme of the conference, His Holiness added, “the historical experience of the three Monotheistic religions should now move from coexisting together to working together.”

The three day conference concluded with the celebration of the 350th anniversary of the Holy Saviour Monastery, in New Julfa, in the presence of His Holiness Aram I and the Prime Minister of Armenia accompanied by seven Government Ministers.

In his closing message His Holiness Aram I said that nations are enriched and sustained through their inherited legacies: the Church, the Nation, the Culture and demanding justice to the memories of the Genocide victims. He then elaborated on the theme of the Armenian Genocide and said that irrespective of the circumstances and the time, we shall continue to demand justice for our martyrs. He then added that there were two different approaches, one that of the Armenia as government and two the Diaspora. While approaches differ, the goals should remain the same because we owe justice to our martyrs.