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ARMENIAN CHURCHES OBSERVE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF GENOCIDE WITH CANONIZATION OF MILLION VICTIMS
MassLive
April 15 2015
By Anne-Gerard Flynn , The Republican
SPRINGFIELD - On April 23, the Armenian Apostolic Church will canonized
more than a million Armenians who died during a forced evacuation,
that began in 1915, from their ancestral homeland by the Ottoman Turks.
The event, during the 100th year of the start of the displacement,
will be recognized locally, and comes after Pope Francis's April 12th
address referred to their deaths as the "the first genocide of the
20th century."
"The Armenian people were most gratified with the remarks of Pope
Francis and his recognition of the atrocities of 1915 in the Ottoman
Empire committed against the Armenians as a genocide. We need more
spokesmen who are not afraid to tell the truth. The Turkish government
has repeatedly denied that a genocide took place," said the Rev. Fr.
Sevak Gabrielyan of St. Mark Armenian Church, 2427 Wilbraham Road,
in reaction to the pope's address.
Turkey has refused to recognize the slaughter during which hundreds of
thousands of Armenians were made homeless. Some 22 nations recognize
the mass killings as genocide. The United States, a close ally of
Turkey, does not. More than half the Armenian population at the time,
most of them Christian, died in the forced evacuation. In 2013, Francis
canonized 800 martyrs who refused to convert to Islam and were killed
by Ottoman Turks in the 15th century. They are known as the "martyrs
of Otranto."
"The Turkish government suggest that the Armenians were revolting
and uprising against the Ottoman government," Gabrielyan said. "The
intent of the Ottoman leadership to eliminate another people is
the most horrific act humans can do, and if not acknowledged, it
can only lead to similar acts in the future - and there have already
been many examples, starting with the Jewish Holocaust, and many more
there after."
Scholars have pointed to Hitler's remark,"Who still talks nowadays of
the extermination of the Armenians?," reportedly made to his generals
prior to to the 1939 invasion of Poland, as his awareness that little
was done by nations to stop the slaughter of the Armenians.
Gabrielyan added, "Human rights violations can be stopped if nations
world-wide put aside political alliances and support human rights."
The Armenian people were most gratified with the remarks of Pope
Francis. - Father Gabrielyan
"Recognition will bring closure to the wounds of millions of families,
whose loved ones from one or two generations back perished in horrific
ways during forced marches and in the Syrian desert of Der Zor,"
Gabrielyan said.
The April 23 canonizations are to take place during a liturgy
at Echmiadzin Cathedral at Vagharshapat in Armenia, and bells are
scheduled to ring at Armenian churches around the world. Springfield
churches are planning to ring their bells around 7:15 p.m.
On April 24 at 5:30 p.m. St. Mark and St. Gregory Armenian churches
jointly will conduct a special mass at St. Gregory Church, 135 Goodwin
St., Indian Orchard.
On May 3 at 1 p.m. the two will hold an ecumenical service at St.
Mark, in recognition of the canonization and the memory of the newly
sainted.
Following the service, Herand Markarian, author of the anthology,
"The Martyred: Armenian Writers 1915-1922," will give a presentation.
On April 26, there will also be a bus from Springfield to St. Vartan
Cathedral in New YorkCity for a Divine Liturgy, and a Centennial
Commemoration of the Genocide at Times Square. For further information,
contact Gabrielyan at (914) 888-4836 or email at [email protected].
Members of St. Mark's will be present for the broadcast of "The
Armenian Genocide" on WGBY/Public Television for Western New England
on April 18 at 7:30 p.m.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/area_armenian_churches_to_obse.html
MassLive
April 15 2015
By Anne-Gerard Flynn , The Republican
SPRINGFIELD - On April 23, the Armenian Apostolic Church will canonized
more than a million Armenians who died during a forced evacuation,
that began in 1915, from their ancestral homeland by the Ottoman Turks.
The event, during the 100th year of the start of the displacement,
will be recognized locally, and comes after Pope Francis's April 12th
address referred to their deaths as the "the first genocide of the
20th century."
"The Armenian people were most gratified with the remarks of Pope
Francis and his recognition of the atrocities of 1915 in the Ottoman
Empire committed against the Armenians as a genocide. We need more
spokesmen who are not afraid to tell the truth. The Turkish government
has repeatedly denied that a genocide took place," said the Rev. Fr.
Sevak Gabrielyan of St. Mark Armenian Church, 2427 Wilbraham Road,
in reaction to the pope's address.
Turkey has refused to recognize the slaughter during which hundreds of
thousands of Armenians were made homeless. Some 22 nations recognize
the mass killings as genocide. The United States, a close ally of
Turkey, does not. More than half the Armenian population at the time,
most of them Christian, died in the forced evacuation. In 2013, Francis
canonized 800 martyrs who refused to convert to Islam and were killed
by Ottoman Turks in the 15th century. They are known as the "martyrs
of Otranto."
"The Turkish government suggest that the Armenians were revolting
and uprising against the Ottoman government," Gabrielyan said. "The
intent of the Ottoman leadership to eliminate another people is
the most horrific act humans can do, and if not acknowledged, it
can only lead to similar acts in the future - and there have already
been many examples, starting with the Jewish Holocaust, and many more
there after."
Scholars have pointed to Hitler's remark,"Who still talks nowadays of
the extermination of the Armenians?," reportedly made to his generals
prior to to the 1939 invasion of Poland, as his awareness that little
was done by nations to stop the slaughter of the Armenians.
Gabrielyan added, "Human rights violations can be stopped if nations
world-wide put aside political alliances and support human rights."
The Armenian people were most gratified with the remarks of Pope
Francis. - Father Gabrielyan
"Recognition will bring closure to the wounds of millions of families,
whose loved ones from one or two generations back perished in horrific
ways during forced marches and in the Syrian desert of Der Zor,"
Gabrielyan said.
The April 23 canonizations are to take place during a liturgy
at Echmiadzin Cathedral at Vagharshapat in Armenia, and bells are
scheduled to ring at Armenian churches around the world. Springfield
churches are planning to ring their bells around 7:15 p.m.
On April 24 at 5:30 p.m. St. Mark and St. Gregory Armenian churches
jointly will conduct a special mass at St. Gregory Church, 135 Goodwin
St., Indian Orchard.
On May 3 at 1 p.m. the two will hold an ecumenical service at St.
Mark, in recognition of the canonization and the memory of the newly
sainted.
Following the service, Herand Markarian, author of the anthology,
"The Martyred: Armenian Writers 1915-1922," will give a presentation.
On April 26, there will also be a bus from Springfield to St. Vartan
Cathedral in New YorkCity for a Divine Liturgy, and a Centennial
Commemoration of the Genocide at Times Square. For further information,
contact Gabrielyan at (914) 888-4836 or email at [email protected].
Members of St. Mark's will be present for the broadcast of "The
Armenian Genocide" on WGBY/Public Television for Western New England
on April 18 at 7:30 p.m.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/area_armenian_churches_to_obse.html