Armenian Catholicose-Patriarch Karekin II Visits India (Paul Ciniraj, Malankara Church Missionary, Kottayam-686038, India)   Kottayam (Kerala, India), SVM News, 04 November 2008: His Holiness Karekin II, The Supreme Catholicose-Patriarch of the Armenian Orthodox Church arrived in India on 31st of October and will be here till November 12, 2008.   Karekin II will be received by His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Didymus I, the Catholicos of the East & Malankara Metropolitan of the Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Church on November 5 at the Catholicate Palace, Devalokam, Kottayam, Kerala. He  will be confered the Order of St. Thomas by the Catholicos of the East, in a function at Mammen Mappilai Hall, Kottayam on 6th of November.   His Holiness Karekin II   He will attend another couple of functions on 7th at Parumala Seminary and the newly built and consecrated His Grace Paulose Mar Pachomios Metropolitan's Residence in Mavelikara Diocese. On 8th Karekin II will visit the Orthodox Theological Seminary for inaugurating the recording studio at Sruti complex.   Then he will be leaving to Chennai and Kolkata on 8th of evening to attend the 300th anniversary celebrations of the Armenian community in Kolkata and Chennai.   On 9th he will be attending the reconsecration ceremony of Armenian community in Chennai. In Kolkata Karekin II will be attending the service at Hrashapar Holy Nazareth Church in Kolkata and the evening events on 10th of November. On 11th, His Holiness will be inagurating the opening ceremony of the newly constructed Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Tangra in Kolkata and the welcome ceremony of the 300th anniversary celebration of the Armenian Orthodox community.  Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, the Primate of the Armenian Church Diocese of Australia, Dr. Ashot Kocharian, the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in India, Bishop Arshak Khachatryan, the Chancellor of Armenia, Bishop Armash Nalbandian, the Primate of the Armenian Church Diocese of Damascus, Bishop Anushavan ( Andranik) Zhamkochyan, the Dean of Yerevan State University - Theological Faculty, V. Rev. Fr. Oshagan Gulgulian, the Pastor and Manager of the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy, Rev Fr Hovnan (Artur) Hakobyan, the Staff-Bearer, Rev Fr Ktrij (Armen) Devejian, the Translator, Ms. Manya Ghazaryan, the Executive Director-Shoghakat TV, Mr. Suren Ter-Grigoryan, the Chief cameraman-Shoghakat TV, Ms. Paula Devejian - the Director-Internet Development Dept., Mr. Gagik Galstyan and Ms. Aida Khachatouryan are accompaniying His Holiness Karekin II during his visit in India. His Holiness KAREKIN II was born in 1951 in the village of Voskehat, near Etchmiadzin, and baptized Ktrij Nersissian. He entered the seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin in 1965, graduating with honors in 1971 and was ordained as a celibate priest (monk) in 1972 by name Karekin. In 23 October 1983 he was elevated to the rank of Bishop by the hand of His Holiness Catholicose Vasken I and he himself . granted him the title of Archbishop in November 1992. He was elected the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians on October 27, 1999, when more than 450 delegates from Armenian Church jurisdictions around the world met in a National Ecclesiastical Assembly at Holy Etchmiadzin, the Church's Mother See, located in the Republic of Armenia. His consecration and enthronement followed on November 4th. As the 132nd in a continuous line of Catholicoi dating back to the Fourth Century, Catholicos Karekin II presides over the Supreme Spiritual Council (the Armenian Church's governing college of bishops), and is the chief shepherd of the world's 7 million Armenian Apostolic Christians.