Neminem vestrum

Neminem vestrum is an encyclical of Pius IX. to the episcopate of Armenia , the clergy and the Catholic nation of the province of Constantinople of February 2, 1854. He condemns the disagreement and schisms in the Armenian Catholic Church , the increased cooperation of lay people and the attempts to bring about a false unity. At the same time he exhorted the bishops , priests and the laity to work for the preservation of unity and to try everything to avoid disagreements.

The encyclical bears the subtitle: “On the persecution of the Armenians”, but means less the persecution from outside than the disagreements brought about by the disagreement. At the beginning Pius IX. the historical development, Pius VIII installed a separate archbishop for the Armenians , Gregory XVI. had arranged the order of the dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Armenia and immediately after taking office he turned to the problem of the Armenians. He would like to end the difficulties in the sense of his predecessor Pius VIII in order to come to an agreement.

In the following paragraphs, the Pope confirms the study of the situation by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and declared that he is willing to implement the cardinals' proposals . He therefore again urged the bishops to obey and apostolic discipline , arguing that in this way the holy religion would be promoted and the discord could end in a Christian harmony and peace. In this context he also recalled the encyclical Inter gravissimas (1832) of his predecessor Gregory XVI.

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Text of the encyclical