On Monday, July 5, Patriarch Sahak II received the Assyrian Catholic Chorebishop of Turkey, Monsignor Orhan Çanlı, and the President of the Istanbul Syriac Catholic Foundation, Zeki Basatemir, at the Patriarchate. Executive assistant of the Patriarchate’s Office, the high Priest Tatul Anuşyan and the Deputy Patriarch Senior Father Krikor Damadyan were also present at the meeting.
With this courtesy visit, the visitors renewed their respect for Patriarch Sahak II. The guests first visited the Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchate Cathedral where they offered a prayer of thanks. Afterwards, they went to the reception hall in the Patriarchate, where they met with His Beatitude the Patriarch. During the candid conversation, the relations between the Armenian and Syriac Catholic Churches in Istanbul came to the fore, while the two spiritual leaders talked about their communities and churches. On the occasion of the visit, the guests expressed that they would be honored to host His Beatitude the Patriarch in their own spiritual center.
The Patriarch thanked them for the courtesy visit and pleasant expressions and added that he would visit the Syriac Catholic Church’s Spiritual Center at the earliest opportunity.
