On the occasion of the 101 anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide of 1915,
a reminder of the grandiose ceremonies
that took place in Armenia, last year, to commemorate
the centenary of the barbarian massacres
that cost the life of a million and a half Armenians,
all of them recognized martyrs during the celebrations
Stronger than Death
is The faith in God that IMMORTALIZES
“The participation of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the ceremonies commemorating the centenary of the Armenian Genocide is far from taking part in evoking a historical event that presently appears in the annals of the history, or to simply claim the rights of its victims, but it is, above all, to witness for the Christian faith that never dies and will not, therefore, in the least be affected by a genocide, whatever is its scope, that aimed its devoted believers,” as were the official declarations of Bishop Raphael, one of the great leaders of the Coptic Orthodox Church, well respected and considered in the ecclesiastic Egyptian, regional and international circles, who accompanied Pope Tawadros II (Theodore II), Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Orthodox Copts, during his historic visit to Armenia on the occasion of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide of which the commemorating ceremonies were held in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, on April 23 and 24, 2015.
At THIS privileged and unique OCCASION IN THE HISTORY OF ARMENIA AND THE WORLD, Bishop RAPHAEL WROTE ON hiS FACEBOOK PAGE the following touching WORDS:
“Armenians still live, still believe in Christ through a real and infallible faith, continue to pray in their churches that were rebuilt after their destruction, and the country continue to proudly wave its Christian identity.”
“In parallel to this victory over death, religious persecution, all over the world, continues to reap in the blood the martyrs devoted to their faith and their sublime religious values.”
“It’s really strange that the day before the departure of the Coptic Orthodox Church delegation to Armenia, chaired by its pope, to attend the ceremonies commemorating the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, another terrible massacre occurred in Africa aiming the Ethiopian youth. The fact that forced the Ethiopian Pope to decline attending the Armenian historic event to bear, in reality, the glorious cross of persecution by supporting his martyred people in their distress. Ethiopians join, in this way, Copts and Armenians in their spiritual, devoted and fervent, battles against evil that irrigate and nourish their righteous and fruitful faith with their blood.”
“May the blessings of our martyrs, through time, as well as those we knew in our modern era, in Armenia, in Egypt, in Ethiopia and around the world, be with us forever, amen.”
It should be noted that the Armenian Church commemorated, by majestic ceremonies that spread over a week, beginning on April 20, 2015, the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, that occurred by the Turks and their accomplices in Anatolia during the 1st World War, when about 1.5 million of Armenians were killed for the simple reason that they held to their faith and religion.
On this tragic memory, all Armenian churches throughout the world have agreed to ring their bells 100 times as a symbol of the hundred years that passed since the barbarian event.
Still insisting on not recognizing its horrific crime against the Armenian people and Humanity, Turkey has, meanwhile, increased hostile statements and actions regarding this honorable commemoration rendered to the Armenian victims, their families and their people still tormented by the so painful memories of the bloody massacres in which large numbers of Armenians were sacrificed, at the dawn of the twentieth century, on the macabre altar of the colonizing ardors and the unjust hegemony.
Prohibiting Armenian churches from ringing the bells in Turkey, violently condemning the statements of Pope Francis, Pope of the Vatican, recognizing the Armenian genocide, and persecuting Christians living on the Turkish territory, specially the Turkish Armenian community, all these vicious reactions were parts of the Turkish authorities avenging response against the massive and intensified international mobilization toward the Armenian cause on the occasion of the centenary of the genocide in April 2015.
It should be mentioned that the Armenian Mother Church in Echmiadzin, in Armenia, officially canonized all Armenians who were killed during the massacres of 1915, during the celebrations of the centenary of the event in April 2015, and recognized them martyrs who willingly gave their life as gift for the survival of their faith in their Sublime Creator.
Amal M. Ragheb
(Carmen Aprahamyan)
International journalist and Writer
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