On Wednesday 24 September, His Holiness Aram I and his entourage, which includes representatives of the community, arrived in Thessaloniki. Rev. Stepannos Pashayan, the priest of the Armenian Church St Mary and the lay leadership of the community welcomed him. The Catholicos and his delegation then visited Metropolitan Anthimos of the Greek Orthodox Church.

After the Metropolitan welcomed His Holiness and praised the Armenian community for its contribution to the city, the Catholicos visited St. Gregory Palamas Church and the Prelacy, where the Catholicos and Archbishop Khoren were the guests of the Metropolitan for lunch. Later in the afternoon, the Metropolitan, His Holiness and his delegation visited Saint Dimitrios and St. Sophia Churches.

In the evening His Holiness joined the community for evening prayers at St. Mary’s Church, where Archbishop Khoren Toghrakadjian welcomed the Catholicos and spoke of his ecumenical and and peace building activities during the past few months. Thanking the Archbishop, His Holiness said, “a community survives when its organizational structures serve the people. To serve our people through our Church is the vocation of our Catholicosate.” He then said that the community’s youth are indispensable members of a community and their contribution to the church and society is critical.