President of Armenia awarded highest Order of Holy See

ArmInfo. RA President Armen Sarkissian met with Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State at the Holy See Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, who arrived in  Yerevan on an official visit to participate in the opening of the  Apostolic Nunciature in the Yerevan.

As reported by the RA President's press service, Sarkissian once  again noted with satisfaction the continuous development of  interstate relations between Armenia and the Holy See. "I am very  glad that the Holy See will already have a permanent Nunciature here.  This is good news for Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Church," he  said.

The Supreme Pontiff Pope Francis awarded the RA President with the  high award of the Holy See - the Grand Collar of the Papal Order of  Pius IX, which Armen Sarkissian was awarded for his great  contribution to the development of relations between Armenia and the  Holy See, as well as for being the first Ambassador of Armenia to the  Vatican.

"The Pope instructed me to hand over to you the highest order of  Vatican. This is a testimony to the unique relations existing between  our countries. By opening an Apostolic Nunciature in Yerevan, we want  to establish high-level relations and show to the world the  importance of the first Christian nation in the history for us",  Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra said.

Noting that he considers this high award a great honor, President  Sarkissian, in particular, said: "I accept this order as an  appreciation of  my modest work, as well as recognition of the fact  that I was the first ambassador of Armenia to the Holy See. I have  always worked for a strong relationship between Armenia and the  Vatican. Therefore, I accept it, promising that I will do more. "

The President of Armenia conveyed his warm greetings to Pope Francis  and noted with gratitude that the Vatican extended a hand of  solidarity to our state and people during the period of hard and  difficult challenges for our country. "We all remember and greatly  appreciate the support that we received from the Pope and the Vatican  in difficult times for Armenia," Sarkissian said, while offering to  mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Armenia and  the Holy See with an exhibition that will once again highlight the  rich historical and cultural heritage between the two parties.