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| | HR1197 | | LRB097 22519 GRL 71283 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is home to more than 10,000 |
| 3 | | Armenians living in communities throughout the State; the |
| 4 | | Armenian Apostolic Church has been the spiritual, cultural, and |
| 5 | | historic center of Armenian communities for more than 1,700 |
| 6 | | years; and
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| 7 | | WHEREAS, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I has been the |
| 8 | | spiritual leader of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian |
| 9 | | Apostolic Orthodox Church since 1995; he previously visited the |
| 10 | | State of Illinois in 1997 and 2005; and
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| 11 | | WHEREAS, From October 22-25, 2012, His Holiness Catholicos |
| 12 | | Aram I will be visiting Armenian Apostolic Churches in |
| 13 | | Glenview, Granite City, and Waukegan during his Pontifical |
| 14 | | Visit, entitled "Witness and Renewal: Taking the Church to the |
| 15 | | People"; and
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| 16 | | WHEREAS, The goals of His Holiness' visit are to make the |
| 17 | | life of the Church a part of the everyday life of the faithful |
| 18 | | of all ages, to hear the concerns and thoughts of the faithful, |
| 19 | | and to share his vision for the Church in a rapidly changing |
| 20 | | world; and
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| 21 | | WHEREAS, His Holiness was born in 1947 in Beirut, Lebanon; |
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| | HR1197 | - 2 - | LRB097 22519 GRL 71283 r |
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| 1 | | he is a graduate of the Armenian Theological Seminary in |
| 2 | | Antelias, Lebanon, and the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey, |
| 3 | | Switzerland and holds his Ph.D. from Fordham University in New |
| 4 | | York; he was ordained as a priest in 1968 and earned the title |
| 5 | | of vartabed (Doctor of the Armenian Church) in 1970; he was |
| 6 | | consecrated as Catholicos on July 1, 1995; and
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| 7 | | WHEREAS, For nearly 50 years, His Holiness has been a |
| 8 | | participant in the worldwide Ecumenical Movement and today is |
| 9 | | considered to be one of the ecumenical giants of our time; |
| 10 | | therefore, be it
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| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
| 12 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
| 13 | | we designate the week of October 21-27, 2012 as "Armenian |
| 14 | | Apostolic Church Week" in the State of Illinois and urge all |
| 15 | | members of the community to unite with the Armenian Apostolic |
| 16 | | Churches in welcoming His Holiness Catholicos Aram I to our |
| 17 | | State as he spreads his theme of "Witness and Renewal: Taking |
| 18 | | the Church to the People" during visits to Armenian All Saints |
| 19 | | Apostolic Church in Glenview, St. Gregory the Illuminator |
| 20 | | Armenian Apostolic Church in Granite City, and St. Paul |
| 21 | | Armenian Apostolic Church in Waukegan; and be it further
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| 22 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
| 23 | | presented to His Holiness Catholicos Aram I as a symbol of our |