19/09/2014 12:59
Armenian president on official visit to Vatican
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan went on an official visit to the Vatican on September 18. He attended the opening of a photo exhibition entitled “Parables of the Orient: Christianity and the Challenge of the New Millennium” at the Vittoriano Museum Complex in Rome, according to the presidential press service.
The purpose of the exhibition is to draw the international community’s attention to the situation in the Christian communities of the Middle East as well as to preserve the Christian cultural heritage in the region. The exhibition features photos taken in nine Middle Eastern countries and a documentary about the destruction of Armenian khachkars (cross-stones) in Jugha.
The exhibition, organized by the Armenian embassy in the Vatican on August 24 in Rimini, will be also held in other cities.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan delivered a speech at the exhibition’s opening. Speeches were also made by Armenian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Vatican Mikael Minasyan, President of Community of Sant’Egidio Marco Impagliazzo, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture Gianfranco Ravasi who discussed the situation of Middle East Christians and Christianity as a whole and voiced concerns over the preservation of social and cultural values.