Armenian genocide memorials muted in Turkey

April 16, 2015

Armenian Apostolic Patriarch Aram Ateshian of Constantinople will celebrate the Divine Liturgy to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, risking the wrath of the Turkish government, which has persistently denied the massacres of 1915.

The Armenian prelate will avoid use of the term "genocide," and will offer prayers for anyone who from the bloodshed that accompanied World War I, the Fides news service notes. But the focus will be on victims of the Turkish campaign against the Armenian minority.

In Yerevan, Armenia, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, will preside at the canonization of genocide victims on April 23. Bells will ring at Armenian churches throughout the world-- except those in Turkey-- in commemoration of the massacre.

Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, will travel to Yerevan to join in the commemoration of the genocide victims.

 

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Further information:

• Even the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople will commemorate the victims of the Genocide (Fides)
• The Coptic Patriarch will participate in the commemorations of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, to be held in Yerevan (Fides)