Catholicos: A century after genocide, new atrocities leave Artsakh without Arm

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, issued a message on the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day on April 24. The full text of his statement is provided below.

“Dear devout people,

Today, in Armenia and in diaspora communities, we commemorate the memory of the holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, who attained immortality by preserving in their souls an unextinguished love for Christ and for the Homeland.

April 24 symbolically unites the memory of the all-national suffering of our people, in which are concentrated the recollections of one and a half million Armenian martyrs, of the sons and daughters of the Armenian people who lost their homeland and were expelled from it, of monasteries and churches subjected to cultural genocide, and of destroyed settlements. This tragedy, however, did not break the spirit of our people. Our people survived the genocide and everywhere brought forth new life and restored the independent Armenian statehood.

April 24 is a day of covenant connected with the demand for justice of our people scattered throughout the world, alien to enmity and hatred, and directed toward the restoration of justice and truth and the prevention of the denial of the tragedy of the genocide.

A century after the catastrophic events of the Genocide, when it seemed that such monstrous crimes belonged to the past, regrettably, as a result of new genocidal actions, Artsakh was cleared of its Armenian population, and more than 120,000 people of Artsakh were forcibly displaced.

In the face of this difficult situation and existing threats, the memory of the sacrifice of our martyrs obliges us to strengthen our unity and solidarity and to reinforce Armenian statehood. Truly, only through nationwide unity will efforts toward the universal recognition of the Armenian Genocide become effective, and steps and initiatives in the name of national progress and a peaceful and secure life become fruitful.

Let us raise our prayers and ask that, through the intercession of our holy martyrs, the heavenly gifts of peace, mercy, and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ be bestowed upon the whole world, upon our Homeland, and upon our people, now and forever. Amen.”