ISTANBUL - The Armenian Orthodox Archbishop of Istanbul, Mesrob II, will fly to Rome Thursday to attend the funeral of pope John Paul II on Friday, his spokeswoman Luiz Bakar told AFP Tuesday.
In a letter of condolence addressed Saturday to cardinal camerlengo Eduardo Martinez Somalo, Mesrob II had described John Paul II as "a faithful and beloved friend of the Armenian church and people."
The Armenian community in Muslim-majority Turkey is about 45,000 strong, mostly Orthodox, but with a small number of catholics and protestants.
04/05/2005 13:54 GMT