THE ARMENIAN GENERAL BENEVOLENT UNION (AGBU) SPONSORED AND UNDERWROTE THE
CEREMONY AND ITS WORLDWIDE BROADCAST
On April 23, 2015, the Armenian Apostolic Church canonized the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. The service was led and presided over by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia. The canonization took place at the open altar of Holy Etchmiadzin and marked a major event in the history of the Armenian nation, as no elevation to sainthood had taken place in the Armenian Apostolic Church in 400 years.
AGBU was instrumental in sponsoring, underwriting and broadcasting the canonization ceremony for a global audience. The ceremony was streamed live on agbu.org and at major Armenian churches across the diaspora, uniting millions of Armenians worldwide: “AGBU is honored to have played a role in this historic, spiritual event for the Armenian nation. The worldwide broadcast allowed those in the diaspora to participate in an entirely unprecedented way,” said AGBU Central Board member Vasken Yacoubian.
The ceremony was attended by Armenian dignitaries and politicians; heads and representatives of sister churches; delegates from 100 countries in Armenia for the centenary commemoration; and thousands of Armenian citizens.
“All of us today are witnesses to the spiritual transfiguration of our history,in which we participate both collectively and as individuals. The canonization of the martyrs of the genocide brings life-giving new breath, grace and blessing to our national and ecclesiastical life. We believe that we are weaving the crown of a new spiritual rebirth for our people, by canonizing the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. The memory of our holy martyrs will heretofore not be a requiem prayer of victimhood and dormition, rather a victorious song of praise by incorporeal soldiers, triumphant and sanctified by the blood of martyrdom,” said His Holiness Karekin II.
The two-hour ceremony ended at 7:15 p.m. (19:15) local time to symbolize the year the genocide began. In observance, bells were rung 100 times at Armenian churches around the world and at non-Armenian churches in Buenos Aires, New York and Paris, among other cities.
The ceremony can be seen in its entirety at http://bit.ly/1Q3uhak
The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is the world’s largest non-profit organization devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs. Each year, AGBU is committed to making a difference in the lives of 500,000 people across Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian diaspora.
*************************************************
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Etchmiadzin04-23-15-01.jpg: On April 23, 2015, the Armenian Apostolic Churchcanonized the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide at the Mother See of HolyEtchmiadzin.
