Armenian Church canonizes 1.5 million genocide victims
Turkey recalls ambassador from Vienna, warns Austria of ‘repercussions’ for recognizing massacre as genocide
ECHMIADZIN, Armenia (AFP) — The Armenian Church on Thursday conferred sainthood on some 1.5 million Armenians massacred by Ottoman forces a century ago, as tensions raged over Turkey’s refusal to recognize the killings as genocide.
The ceremony, which is believed to be the biggest canonization service in history, came ahead of commemorations expected to see millions of people including heads of state on Friday mark 100 years since the start of the killings.
The two-hour ceremony outside Armenia’s main cathedral, Echmiadzin, close to the capital Yerevan, ended at 7:15 p.m. local time, or 19:15 according to the 24-hour clock (1515 GMT), to symbolize the year when the massacres started during World War I.
“During the dire years of the genocide of the Armenians, millions of our people were uprooted and massacred in a premeditated manner, passed through fire and sword, tasted the bitter fruits of torture and sorrow,” Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, said at the ceremony.
“The canonization of the martyrs of the genocide brings life-giving new breath, grace and blessing to our national and ecclesiastical life.”
Clergymen in ornate robes sang ancient chants outside the imposing cathedral built in a pale pink variety of limestone at an open-air altar in a churchyard full of spring greenery.
At the end of the ceremony attended by President Serzh Sarkisian, bells rang out across Armenia and a minute of silence was observed.
Bells also tolled in cities around the world including New York, Madrid, Venice, Berlin and the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Armenian television said.
“Today’s canonization unites all Armenians living around the globe,” Huri Avetikian, an ethnic Armenian librarian from Lebanon who arrived in her ancestral homeland to attend the service, told AFP.
“Souls of the victims of the genocide will finally find eternal repose today,” said 68-years-old social worker Varduhi Shanakian. “Supreme justice will triumph.”
In canonizing the victims, “the Church only recognizes what happened: that is, the genocide”, Karekin II said ahead of the event which Christian Today said could become “the biggest saint-making service in history.”
“The Armenian Church will proclaim the collective martyrdom of those who were killed over their faith and their homeland,” church spokesman Father Ter Vahran told AFP.
Ex-Soviet Armenia and the huge Armenian diaspora worldwide have battled for decades to get the World War I massacres at the hands of the Ottoman forces between 1915 and 1917 recognized as a targeted genocide.
But modern Turkey — the successor to the Ottoman Empire — has refused to do so, and relations remain frozen to this day.
Ankara says 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil — rather than religious — strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.
In a rare interview with Turkish television broadcast Thursday, President Sarkisian expressed hope that the two countries could mend fences.
“It is obvious that a reconciliation between the two peoples will have to come about through Turkey recognizing the genocide,” he told CNN-Turk.
On Friday, hundreds of thousands are expected to join a procession to a hilltop memorial in the Armenian capital Yerevan carrying candles and flowers to lay at the eternal flame at the center of the monument commemorating the mass murder.
In Paris, Los Angeles and other cities, members of the Armenian diaspora that came into existence as a result of the slaughter will also hold commemorations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and French counterpart Francois Hollande are expected to be among a handful of world leaders to travel to Armenia for the commemorations, but others are shying away for fear of upsetting Ankara.
“Russia’s position was and remains consistent and objective: mass extermination on ethnic grounds cannot be justified,” Putin said.
“The international community must do everything to prevent such heinous crimes from ever happening again.”
Meanwhile on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said warned that Austrian lawmakers’ decision to condemn the killings as genocide will have “unfavorable repercussions” on Turkish-Austrian relations.
“The adoption of this declaration will inevitably have unfavorable repercussions on bilateral relations,” he told his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz by telephone, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
Turkey on Wednesday recalled its ambassador to Austria over the lawmakers’ condemnation.
Earlier Wednesday, the leaders of Austria’s six major parties issued a statement recognizing the killings for the first time as “genocide” and calling on Turkey to take responsibility for its role in the mass murders.
Earlier this month, Pope Francis drew Turkey’s wrath after describing the Armenian killings as “the first genocide of the 20th Century.”
