20 April 2015. In the morning, His Holiness Aram I received Armenian refugees from Syria with their former Prelate Archbishop, Suren Kataroyan, in the Main Hall of the Catholicosate.

The Catholicos welcomed them and asked them to consider the Catholicosate their home. He then spoke of the significance of the Armenian community in Syria and its history as an organized and active community, especially since the Genocide. The Catholicosate of Cilicia has been supporting the Armenian Refugees from Syria, by accompanying them in their misery and protecting their institutional structures as much as possible. His Holiness informed the refugees that he had asked all Armenian benevolent organizations and civil society to help their compatriots and was pleased with their initiatives. The Catholicos then appealed to the Armenian business community to provide jobs for the refugees. The visit ended with His Holiness’s prayers for peace in Syria so that people may return there and rebuild their homes and their lives.

After receiving the blessings of His Holiness Aram I, the Syrian Armenians went to the Cathedral, where Archbishop Kataroyan held a prayer service. At the end of the service he thanked them for their contributions to the spiritual, educational and cultural life of the Armenian community in their country and prayed that they will soon be able to rebuild their community in Syria.