Ecumenical Delegation Visits Brussels

With the blessing of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the representatives of the Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation of WCC (ART) – His Grace Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Director of the Inter-Church Relations Department of the Mother See (member of the board of trustees), Dr. Karen Nazaryan, Executive Director of the ART and Ms. Rubina Devrikyan, Programme Officer of ART, paid a working visit to Brussels from March 6 to 12.
The aim of the visit was to learn about the activities of Churches and European institutions, to establish and promote cooperation in terms of joint projects, to introduce the activities of the Round Table Charitable Foundation as a regional and Inter-Church organization to the representatives of the European institutions, and to find ways for the development of future cooperation.
The delegation held working meetings with representatives of the European Commission Directorate-General for External Relations, European Commission European External Action Service and Eastern Partnership, representatives of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament Directorate –General for External Policies of the Union, as well as held meetings with the European organizations such as Eurodiaconia, Conference of European Churches, and a number of lobbying agencies, such as APRODEV, CONCORD, European Friends of Armenia and a number of other European Organizations.
The members of the delegation were also received by Very. Rev. Fr. Zatik Avetikian, Spiritual Pastor of the Benelux countries.
The delegation gained a number of agreements for cooperation, and one of them is the agreement on cooperation with Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches regarding development of the “Social Doctrine” and projects on promotion of regional dialogue.