His Excellency Archbishop Gevorg Noradounkian has been on a pastoral visit to the Armenian Catholic communities of Russia since December 23. This is the first pastoral visit of the newly appointed Patriarch to these communities, which was much anticipated. The faithful people welcomed their spiritual Leader with religious warmth and filial love. On December 24 and 25, His Holiness celebrated the Holy Christmas Liturgy at the Catholic Church of the Apostles Shmavon and Thaddeus in Sochi. A large number of believers from Sochi, Adler, Lazarevsk and Tuapseh attended The Holy Liturgy. The Holy Cross Diocese of Sochi is also celebrating the fifth anniversary of its foundation.

In his sermons, Archbishop Gevorg Noradounkian emphasized that the Nativity of the Child Jesus calls us to open our hearts to the Lord’s presence.  He explained how, through this openness, Jesus can be born within us in a profound and genuine manner, allowing His presence to become increasingly vivid and powerful in our lives every day. Recognizing the Lord’s presence among us through the intuition of faith, we are called to seek God’s grace to share Jesus with others. This, he insured, is the fundamental mission of a Christian. Archbishop affirmed his unwavering commitment to support the community entrusted to him to the best of his abilities.

After the Divine Liturgy, the children of the local community delighted His Excellency and all those present with a beautiful concert program. On behalf of the community, Mrs. Flora Avetisyan delivered a heartfelt speech of gratitude. She conveyed her joy at the visit of Archbishop, emphasizing that it reflects his paternal care for the Armenian Catholics of Sochi. Mrs. Avetisyan was also happy that His Excellency is ready to help the local community to solve the problems it faces. She confessed that she was deeply impressed by the spiritual sermons of Archbishop.

On December 26, Archbishop Gevorg Noratunkyan visited the Armenian Catholic community in Tuapse, where he celebrated a Divine Liturgy in their honor. During the service, he conveyed messages of love and peace inspired by the Nativity of the Child Jesus.

He will stay in Russia until the Feast of the Epiphany. This pastoral visit also reflects a deep personal longing of Archbishop Noradoungyan, given that he previously served as a parish priest in the Armenian Catholic communities in Russia from 2007 to 2010.

Secretariat of the Armenian Catholic Ordinariate

Translated by Ulyana Kostanyan