Posted on 04/22/2015 5:56:24 AM PDT by NRx
Moscow, April 20, Interfax - The Armenian Apostolic Church will canonize all victims of the Armenian genocide on April 23.
"The main event is scheduled for April 23: canonization by the Armenian Church of all genocide victims. Over half a million of people will be named as martyrs for faith and the fatherland," Archbishop Yezras (Nersisyan), the head of the Novo-Nakhichevan and Russian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, said in an interview published in the Monday edition of the magazine Ogonyok.
Archbishop Yezras said events devoted to the 100th anniversary of the genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire will be conducted in different countries in the next few days. Church services will take place and all organize Armenian communities will hold memorial events, including concerts, the opening of khachkars (traditional memorial steles bearing a cross) and exhibits of archive materials.
One hundred bell chimes will be given in Christian churches.
"We have received a blessing from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. On this day, which is important to our brotherly Churches, bells will also chime on the cathedral of Christ the Savior and a cathedral choir will sing Our Father and Holy Lord in Armenian," the archbishop said.
The exhibit entitled "Russian View of the Genocide of Armenians" will open in the Great Patriotic War Museum in Moscow's Poklonnaya Gora.
On April 24, the world will mark the 100th anniversary of the genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Some 1.5 million people fell victims to the mass killings. However, Turkey does not officially recognize this fact.
On April 12, Pope Francis served a mass in memory of the victims of the genocide of Armenians. The mass was attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
During the mass, the pope called the mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire genocide. That was the first time a pope used the term "genocide" referring to the 1915 events.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry sharply criticized the pope's statement and summoned the Vatican ambassador to Turkey for explanations.
Good for them. I know Putin has the last say on anything, so he approved this? He doesn’t have a particular love for muslims I think, or maybe he just likes Shiites, like Iran.
In either case he’s a psycho dictator.
Once again, the images of the girls on the crosses in Armenia haunt me to no end. I picture my niece dying in such a horrible way, and I see the Kenyan bowing to people who are capable of it, and I just don’t know what to say.
Please note that Geoffrey Zakarian's "glasses" do not have lenses in them.
Armenia is not part of Russia, it is an independent country. And the Armenian Apostolic Church is non-Chalcedonian (Oriental) Orthodox. Sadly they are not in communion with the Orthodox Church. The displays of support from the Russian and presumably other Orthodox churches are signs of fraternal support and love.
In my eyes, they were saints already. This just makes it offical.
I knew it wasn’t part of Russia but in an embarrassing bit of honesty, I have to say I have no idea where it is located, and wasn’t even sure if it still existed under that name. Shame on me.
Just west of Azerbaijan and south of Georgia, north of Iran, and east of Turkey
wow! you know your geography! That gives me an idea but I am weak in geography and am going to open a map to see. Just took a look at that area. So interesting. Looks like a tough neighborhood to be in!
Take THAT, Obama!
Armenian saints, pray for us.
If I remember my history, the Armenians lived in the eastern part of Turkey and were the first nation to become Christian.
When the Turks began their final persecution, the remainder of the people fled into the areas controlled by Russia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_modern_Armenian_history
The ancient ethnic churches are among the most liberal in the world.
As you can see, Armenia as a state has been reduced to a small fragment of what used to be Armenia. It used to be all of eastern Turkey, and then some.
It was the first country to have Christianity as its official religion --- in 300 AD --- before Christianity was even legal in the Roman Empire.
Wow. Dam the Turks. They haven’t gotten any better. Built a 100 million dollar mosque in Maryland and the opening will be attended by the Kenyan. I am trying to go and protest when it happens.
The crucifixions were horrifying and the images will stay with me forever. They were young girls those G.D D.M animals. And now they have a conquering treasure in that mosque in Maryland. 2017 cant come fast enough or they will do to us what they did to the Armenians.
Don’t be silly. They are not canonizing anyone outside of their church. Also the reference to the fatherland is a a patriotic one, not theological. To suggest otherwise would be difficult to explain other than as a deliberate misreading of the article or a declaration of shocking ignorance regarding the Orthodox churches.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.