ANTELIAS, Lebanon - The students of the Theological Seminary of the Armenian Catholicate of Cilicia are always encouraged by His Holiness Aram I to actively participate in ecumenical and inter-seminarian activities.

A concrete manifestation of this encouragement was the decision taken by the three heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East (Coptic, Syrian and Armenian), on May 9, 2000, in Antelias, to form a sub-committee composed of the Deans of the Oriental Orthodox Theological Seminaries to deal with matters related to theological formation. In this context, December 10-17, 2000, Dr. Jerjes Saleh of the Coptic Church visited the Armenian Seminary in Bikfaya, Lebanon, and delivered a series of lectures on the Prophets of the Old Testament. He also had an opportunity to be acquainted with the history of the Armenian Church and witness of the Catholicate of Cilicia in the Armenian Diaspora.

On December 16, 2000, a group of Near East School of Theology students visited the Catholicate and met V. Rev. Nareg Alemezian (Ecumenical Officer) to learn about the history and theology of the Armenian Church and the multifaceted mission of the Armenian Catholicate of Cilicia.