Pope tells Armenian Orthodox God can work miracle of Christian unity

Published: 2008-05-09

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God can work miracles, including the miracle of Christian unity, Pope Benedict XVI told the Armenian Orthodox patriarch and 18 bishops. "If our hearts and minds are open to the Spirit of communion, God can work miracles again in the church, restoring the bonds of unity," the pope said May 9 during a prayer service with Catholicos Karekin II, patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Catholicos Karekin was visiting the Vatican along with Armenian Orthodox bishops from Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Italy and Germany. Some 100 Armenian pilgrims from around the world joined Pope Benedict and the Armenian bishops for the midday prayer service in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace; afterward, the patriarch joined the pope for lunch.

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