Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians, has been awarded the Ukrainian Order of Yaroslav the Wise for his significant personal contribution to the development and strengthening of relations between the Armenian and Ukrainian Churches.On 29 October 2001 he received his award in a ceremony held in his residence in Etchmiadzin, Armenia.(Karekin and his award are pictured.)
Oleksandr Bozhko, Ukrainian ambasador to Armenia, presented the award to the Catholicos. He emphasized that during his term as head of the Armenian Apostolic Church Karekin II has increased the Church’s authority and encouraged united and coordinated activities in the Armenian Church’s eparchies dispersed throughout the world. The Armenian eparchy in Ukraine, which on 28 October celebrated the tenth anniversary of its revival, is one of the oldest Armenian eparchies outside Armenia. Receiving his award, Karekin said that he will continue working to bring these two Christian peoples closer together and that he will provide for the religious needs of the Armenian diaspora in Ukraine. Information taken from the Russian-language site www.religio.ru.