On the fourth and final day of his Apostolic Journey to Türkiye, Pope Leo XIV began the day with prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul.

In his address, the Pope greeted His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and the entire Armenian Apostolic community in Türkiye.

He thanked God for the “courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people throughout history, often amid tragic circumstances.”

Pope Leo expressed his gratitude for the growing fraternal bonds that unite the Apostolic Armenian Church and the Catholic Church.

He recalled that the first join declaration between a Pope and an Oriental Orthodox Patriarch was signed in May 1970 between Pope Paul VI and Catholicos Vasken I.

“Since then, by God’s grace, the ‘dialogue of charity’ between our Churches has flourished,” he said.

Pope Leo said his visit to Türkiye celebrates the Nicene Creed, as the Church marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, saying it calls to mind the unity that existed between East and West in the early centuries of the Church.

“We must also take inspiration from the experience of the early Church in order to restore full communion, a communion which does not imply absorption or domination, but rather an exchange of the gifts received by our Churches from the Holy Spirit for the glory of God the Father and the edification of the body of Christ,” said Pope Leo XIV.

He expressed his hopes that the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches may soon be able to resume its work to seek full communion.

The Pope pointed to the 12th-century Armenian Catholicos St. Nerses IV Shnorhali and his tireless work to “reconcile the churches in order to fulfil Christ’s prayer that ‘they may all be one’.”

“May the example of Saint Nerses inspire us and his prayer strengthen us on the path to full communion!” he prayed.

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV thanked Armenian Patriarch Sahak II for his warm welcome to the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“May we receive this gift from above with open hearts,” he said, “so that we may be ever more convincing witnesses to the truth of the Gospel and better servants of the mission of the one Church of Christ."