On Thursday, November 9, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, served as the Guest Chaplain in the United States House of Representatives – delivering the opening prayer before the house session.
His prayer runs as follows,
“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. We give thanks to you, dear God, for your gift of life. Grant us wisdom, courage, and vision. In order that we may fully dedicate ourselves to the service of the people and the United States of America. Help us, o God, actively engage in meaningful and fruitful deliberation and discussion. For the good of our people and prosperity of our country.
Help us God of Wisdom, as elected representatives of people, to reflect and act with the profound sense of responsibility and accountability.
Help us God of compassion to promote mutual understanding, acceptance, and tolerance, as one nation of coherent diversities.
Help us giver of peace and justice, to work ardently for peace with justice, in a world torn apart by violence and polarizations.
Help us God of Mercy. Remember in our prayers more than 100,000 Armenian refugees who recently were forced to leave their Nagorno-Karabakh, their centuries-old homeland and face huge difficulties and uncertainties.
O God, protect us from evil, and strengthen and guide us in our common responsibility. Amen.”
His Holiness Aram I is the head of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia and was elected Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church in 1995. Ordained a priest in 1968, Aram Keshishian was named locum tenens of the Diocese of Lebanon in 1978 and Primate in 1979 and was ordained as a bishop in 1980.
He received his PhD from Fordham University in New York and resides in Antelias, Lebanon. In September of 2022, His Holiness Aram I was elected President of the World Council of Churches, representing the Oriental Orthodox churches, during the Council’s assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Catholicos Aram I’s prayer was televised live on C-SPAN and has been included in the Congressional Record.
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