Armenian Church Pontiff Honored

His Holiness Aram I, the spiritual leader of one of the two wings of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in the first visit since his consecration last year, really scored with the crowd Friday as he was honored by Pasadena in a ceremony at the Rose Bowl’s Court of Champions.

The 45th catholicos, or pope, of the wing of the Armenian Church based in Beirut, not only predicted that the divided church will be reunified, but in his full ceremonial robes took to the bowl’s field and, in a symbolic gesture, kicked a Galaxy soccer ball at a goal guarded by an archbishop from the other wing of the church based in Armenia.

“This is the unity of the Armenian Church we were talking about,” declared a smiling pontiff as Archbishop Vatche Housepian, the main church’s leader in western diocese of the United States, jokingly saved the shot on goal as church officials, bodyguards and dignitaries watched. The unplanned event took place as the 49-year-old pontiff took a tour inside the stadium. Rose Bowl officials quickly put up the goal posts and found a ball.

In a short address before about 100 people at the Court of Champions, Aram I urged Armenian Americans to preserve their Armenian traditions as they blend into American society and told them the two wings of the church will eventually reunify.

“We have given more and more manifestation to our unity, to our church unity,” he said.

The Lebanon church recognizes the primacy of the main church in Armenia and has worked cooperatively. As many 11,000 Pasadena residents are of Armenian descent.