French Parliament Unanimously Approves Criminalizing Armenian Genocide Denial

PARIS—French members of parliament voted unanimously Friday to criminalize the denial of all crimes against humanity, including the denial of the Armenian Genocide, reported Agence France Presse.

The amendment, passed on the first reading, sets out penalties of up to a year in prison and a 45,000-euro ($50,000) fine for those who fail to observe it.

Last month, the German parliament voted to recognize the Armenian Genocide, while last week while visiting Armenia, Pope France, reiterated the Vatican’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

The French amendment, which must now go to the upper house Senate for approval, was a promise by President Francois Hollande during his 2012 electoral campaign.

An earlier law against Armenian Genocide denial was struck down by the country’s constitutional court for obstructing freedom of speech.

The new legal project covers all events which French law deems to be genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or slavery. Currently, French law only bans Holocaust denial.

“This text will punish the challenge or the trivialization of all crimes against humanity and war crimes,” said Ericka Bareigts, the junior minister in charge of equality was quoted as saying by the AFP. She said that included the Armenian Genocide.

“This is one of the greatest days of my political career,” enthused Henri Jibrayel, a member of parliament whose ancestors were Genocide survivors.

The new law’s backers hope to see it enter into force before the end of the year.

Pope Listens to His Heart, Not Handlers, on Genocide During Armenia Pilgrimage

While Armenians throughout the world were overjoyed with the landmark “pilgrimage” of His Holiness Pope Francis to the first Christian state, most people were unaware of the behind-the-scenes deliberations on the Armenian Genocide issue in the Vatican prior to his visit.

The pope’s dual roles as pontiff of the Catholic Church and head of the Vatican State occasionally create problems within and outside the walls of the Holy See, which is what happened during the pope’s visit to Armenia last week.

After lengthy preparations and internal discussions, the pope arrived in Armenia on June 24 ready to deliver a series of sermons and remarks over the course of his three-day visit. Surprisingly, none of his prepared speeches contained the words “Armenian Genocide,” but there were plenty of references to “tragedy, slaughter, terrible trial, and immense suffering.” His homilies repeatedly used the Armenian term “Medz Yeghern” (Great Crime), which was wrongly translated by the Vatican as “Great Evil.” The first indication of a change in terminology came prior to the pope’s pastoral visit in a video address to the Armenian people, which did not mention the Armenian Genocide. Later on, during his visit to the Armenian Genocide Monument, the pontiff did not write the words “Armenian Genocide” in the guest book, copying the text from a pre-prepared note card!

There may have been two reasons why the words “Armenian Genocide” were avoided:

1) Since Pope Francis had already gone on record using the term “Armenian Genocide” during last April’s Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican officials decided to deliver a new message of “peace and reconciliation.”

2) The pontiff’s foreign policy advisors may have been reluctant to raise the Armenian Genocide issue once again after the Turkish government’s harsh reaction last year and the withdrawal of its ambassador from the Vatican for 10 months.

Pope Francis, however, surprised everyone when he departed from the text of his prepared remarks that had been already distributed to the media, by adding the word “genocide” to his address at the Presidential Palace in Yerevan on June 24. Here is what Pope Francis actually said while recalling his earlier sermon of April 12, 2015:

“The occasion was the commemoration of the Centenary of the Medz Yeghern, the ‘Great Evil’ that struck your people and caused the death of a vast multitude of persons. Sadly, that tragedy—that genocide—was the first of the deplorable series of catastrophes of the past century, made possible by twisted racial, ideological, or religious aims that darkened the minds of the tormentors even to the point of planning the annihilation of entire peoples.”

Later that day, Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Holy See’s Press Office, explained why Pope Francis deviated from his prepared text: “The pope says what he finds appropriate, and no one decides what the pontiff should say. The pope had no reason to avoid the word ‘genocide’ during his trip to Armenia. The reality is clear and we never denied what the reality is.”

The pontiff’s use of that single word in one speech did not escape the attention of Turkish authorities. Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli responded by accusing the pope of having a “Crusader mentality.” Canikli went on to repeat the usual Turkish lies about the Armenian Genocide. Lombardi, the pontiff’s spokesman, dismissed the deputy prime minister’s criticism, stating that “the pope is not doing Crusades. He has said no words against the Turkish people.”

Refusing to buckle under Turkish pressure, Pope Francis went on to sign a “Joint Declaration” with Catholicos Karekin II on June 26, 2016, which referenced the Vatican’s earlier acknowledgments of the Armenian Genocide: Pope Francis’s April 12, 2015 sermon and the “Joint Declaration” signed on Sept. 27, 2001, by Pope John Paul II and Catholicos Karekin II. Another “Joint Communique” acknowledging the Armenian Genocide was signed on Nov. 29, 2000, by John Paul II and Karekin II.

During his return flight to Rome on June 26, an AFP journalist asked Pope Francis why he added the word “genocide” to his speech in Yerevan. The pope explained in detail that genocide is the only word he had grown up with to describe the mass killings of Armenians. The pope also mentioned his upcoming trip to Azerbaijan and Georgia from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

Pope Francis approached his “pilgrimage” to Armenia with utmost honesty and spoke from his heart about the Armenian Genocide, ignoring the political calculations of his advisers and speechwriters. He preferred to conduct himself as a true man of God rather than a crafty politician!

China as Refuge for Armenian Genocide Survivors

From the Armenian Weekly 2016 MagazineDedicated to the 101st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

China as Refuge for Armenian Genocide Survivors [1]

In a letter to his brother Krikor,[2] who had arrived in Boston in 1914, Rev. Asadoor Z. Yeghoyan wrote from Kharpert, “Krikor you traveled all around the world, now you know by experience that the world is round, take care so you will not fall off it.”[3] The reverend’s words were not true, yet they were prophetic. At that point, Krikor had not traveled around the world—he had left the Ottoman Empire and crossed the Atlantic for the United States. However, Krikor returned to his home town shortly thereafter and was caught in the maelstrom of World War I. He survived the Armenian Genocide with the help of Kurds from Dersim and eventually arrived in the Caucasus. Yet conflict in the region kept pushing him eastward, until he reached China. In 1919, he finally arrived in the U.S. via Japan, with help from Diana Apkar, the honorary consul in Japan of the first Republic of Armenia. At that point, he had indeed traveled around the world. In this article, I present a brief history of the several thousand Armenians who, like Krikor, escaped the genocide and found safe haven in China.

Armenians in China (1880s-1950s)

Hundreds of Armenians journeyed eastward to China in the late 19th century in search of opportunity, anchoring themselves in major cities, as well as in Harbin, a town that rose to prominence with the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

Initially, Armenian railroad workers and merchants formed the core of the community in Harbin. Their numbers were small—no more than a few dozen. A larger number of Armenians lived in Manzhouli (Manchuli), which had risen to prominence in the early 20^th century also thanks to railway projects. A group photograph of the Armenian community in Manzhouli (circa 1919) depicting around 150 men, women, and children, complete with the Armenian tricolor, stands testament to the size of the Armenian community in the city.[4]

A few thousand Armenians, including Yeghoyan, arrived in the region escaping genocide in Ottoman Turkey and turmoil in the Caucasus. Often, those who followed this path hoped to get to the United States. American missionary Ernest Yarrow encountered some 200 Armenian refugees in Vladivostok in late 1918, most of whom “have friends in America and are hoping in some way or other to get there.”[5] Yet most stayed in East Asia for years, even decades, helping build communities that thrived, despite conflicts, war, and foreign occupation.

Many of these Armenians coupled their personal success with a dedication to community life, helping develop small but vibrant communities. Despite conflicts, war, and foreign occupation that beset the history of China in the first half of the 20th century, they built a church (Harbin), community centers (Harbin and Shanghai), and established relief organizations, choirs, language schools, and women’s groups. In the years following the Chinese revolution, Armenians fled the country (like most Christians in China) mainly in two directions: Soviet Armenia and the Americas.[6]

Garabed Meltickian was a survivor of the genocide who joined the stream of Armenian refugees traversing the Caucasus and Siberia all the way to China. Originally from Maden, Diyarbakir, Meltickian was conscripted into the Ottoman military in 1914 and dispatched to Erzincan. In 1915, he was among 120 Armenian soldiers who were handcuffed and taken away to be killed. He miraculously survived the carnage, was given shelter by Kurds, saved by advancing Russian troops, fought with Armenian forces in Kars, and after their withdrawal from the city, went to Tiflis, from there to Siberia, and finally settled in Manchuria.[7] Meltickian became a successful merchant in the city, and played an active role in the Armenian community’s life. He helped form a youth group and started a small Armenian library, arranging for the shipment of books from Hairenik publishing house in Boston, Mass.[8]

Soon, the first generation of Armenians born in the city started successful businesses in China. A son of survivors, Yervand Markarian was born in Harbin, where his father had settled after the war. The family moved to Tientsin,[9] China, in 1925.[10] Years later, reflecting upon his life’s trajectory, Markarian wrote:

I was a man born outside my ethnic fatherland which by the time of my birth had ceased to exist… As incongruous as it may seem, I was born in China, without having a drop of Chinese blood, where I later volunteered to serve in the French army but was not French, and ended up in the French Foreign Legion in Indochina (Vietnam), under rather strange circumstances. As a family man, I owned and managed restaurants in China, Brazil, and California—all of them Russian/Armenian and all of them called Kavkaz.[11]

Map of North China (1912)

Newspapers in China and the Genocide

Many in China were not oblivious to the fate of Ottoman Armenians as hundreds of survivors arrived in Harbin and other cities. Russian, English, Chinese, and Japanese language newspapers reported on the fate of the Ottoman Armenians. The North China Herald (published in Shanghai beginning in 1850), for example, ran dozens of reports on the Hamidian massacres, the Adana massacres, the Armenian Genocide, relief efforts to assist Armenian deportees and refugees in the Caucasus and in Syria, peace treaties and negotiation processes involving Armenian representatives, and the Armenian communities in Harbin and Shanghai as they established a church and a community center. A report titled “Massacres in Armenia. Horrible Atrocities” (4 December 1915), provided details furnished by Viscount Bryce about massacres in Bitlis and Mush and drownings in River Tigris. Another article, “Awful Massacres in Armenia. Wholesale Drowning at Trebizond” (16 October 1915) noted how in the House of Lords, Earl Cromer said Germany’s “moral responsibility [in Armenian massacres] was unquestionable.” The author called for “utmost publicity” in India and Egypt expressing belief that educated Muslims there would be equally outraged by the atrocities. The author went on to argue that the only way to rescue the survivors would be “an expression of opinion from the World, especially from neutrals.”

Program booklet cover of Vartanants Day event in Harbin (Feb. 24, 1944) (Photo: Meltickian Collection)

Interactions with Missionaries

The role of missionaries in providing relief and assistance to Armenians during and in the aftermath of the genocide is well-documented, with focus on humanitarian work in the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus.[12] Yet missionaries assisted Armenians, including deportees who had escaped the genocide, also in faraway cities like Vladivostok and Harbin. One such missionary was Rev. Ernest A. Yarrow, who spent almost a year in Siberia and Manchuria beginning in late 1918, following a decade of service in Van (September 1904-October 1915) and the Caucasus (1916-1919), before another five years in the Caucasus with Near East Relief (1920-1925).

Yarrow employed several Armenians, and secured jobs for many others. Armenian refugees in Siberia and Manchuria remembered Yarrow fondly for his efforts. In his memoir, Krikor Yeghoyan wrote:Working for the Red Cross in Vladivostok, Yarrow helped house

refugees “among whom were about 200 Armenians who had come from the Caucasus, some of whom I knew personally.”[13]Now in East Asia, Yarrow once again embarked upon helping Armenians from the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus. “Among those whom I knew were Aghavnee and Marina, who were teachers in our school [in Van] and whom I put in charge of the stores until they got permission to leave. I got them good outfits of clothing and left them quite happy,” he wrote.[14]

[W]e visited Vladivostok [from Harbin]…. The first wagon rolling in was the one with the Armenians. At this instant we noticed one gentleman and two nurses. The nurses came over; they asked us, “Are you Armenians?” in Armenian. We answered, “Yes.” Right away they asked us if there were any tradesmen amongst us. I said I was a carpenter. The man said, “Good.” He left the nurses here and brought me to a town to meet the General. On our way, I asked him how come he knew such good Armenian. He said he was a missionary in Van. He learned it there and his name was Yarrow. I became very interested in the man. I asked him this time if he ever went to Harpoot. “Yes, but only for conventions.” In that case I suppose you must know Rev. Yeghoyan [Krikor’s brother]. “Oh, yes,” he said, he was a powerful minister. I continued saying, I was his brother, that I was in America one time, and doing carpentering there. “Do you speak English?” “Yes, a little,” I said. “Oh, you are just the man we are looking for!” At last I met the General; Yarrow introduced me to him giving all the details of my life and adding that I had been in U.S.A. After this formal conversation, I was appointed as supervisor over all the refugees, and master carpenter with a salary of 400 rubles, also board and lodging.[15]

Not all refugees Yarrow helped in Vladivostok anchored themselves in Siberia and China. Arriving in Egypt in March 1919, Yarrow met with several of the Armenians he had helped in Vladivostok months earlier. They were at the Armenian refugee camp in Port Said that was comprised of several thousand Armenians rescued by a French battleship from Musa Dagh, and a few thousand Armenians from elsewhere. “You remember my writing from Siberia that I had housed and organized the support of about 200 Armenians in Vladivostok?” Yarrow asked in a letter to his friend. “I was amazed to find that 35 of these had reached Port Said and were in the camp. They had been sent by boat by the Red Cross to make their way back to Armenia!”[16]

Conclusion

For several decades, hundreds of genocide survivors called China home, helping build communities that celebrated heritage and culture across the globe from the Armenian homeland. The Chinese revolution displaced these Armenians once again, scattering them across the globe—to Soviet Armenia, North America, and Australia. Thousands of documents, photographs, artifacts, and mementos from these communities are scattered in archives and family collections across the world. This article, and the more extensive study it is based on, is an effort to shed light on this integral yet neglected part of Armenian Genocide and Diaspora studies.

Vatican Radio: Pope Francis prays in Armenian Apostolic Cathedral

Vatican Radio: Pope Francis prays in Armenian Apostolic Cathedral

Posted on June. 24. 2016

en.radiovaticana.va

Vatican Radio Pope Francis prayed in the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral of the Holy Etchmiadzin on Friday upon arrival in the

country on his 14th Apostolic Journey, along with His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch-Catholicos of All the Armenians, and a select group of around 100 other dignitaries.

Pope Francis and His Holiness Karekin II exchanged a sign of peace and prayed Psalm 122 together at the high altar.

In remarks prepared for the occasion, Pope Francis thanked God for “the light of faith kindled in your land, the faith that has given Armenia its particular identity and made it a herald of Christ among the nations”.

He said faith prompted Armenia to become the first nation to accept Christianity as its religion in the year 301, as persecutions under the Emperor Diocletian still raged throughout the Roman Empire.

“For Armenia, faith in Christ has not been like a garment to be donned or doffed as circumstances or convenience dictate, but an essential part of its identity, a gift of immense significance, to be accepted with joy, preserved with great effort and strength, even at the cost of life itself.”

The Holy Father also thanked God for “the journey that the Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church have undertaken through sincere and fraternal dialogue for the sake of coming to share fully in the Eucharistic banquet”.

Despite the advance in ecumenical union, Pope Francis noted the conflicts and division which mark our world and which require a solid, shared Christian witness.

“Tragically, our world is marked by divisions and conflicts, as well as by grave forms of material and spiritual poverty, including the exploitation of persons, not least children and the elderly.  It expects from Christians a witness of mutual esteem and fraternal cooperation capable of revealing to every conscience the power and truth of Christ’s resurrection.”

He also said the spirit of ecumenism both encourages dialogue and “also prevents the exploitation and manipulation of faith, for it requires us to rediscover faith’s authentic roots, and to communicate, defend and spread truth with respect for the dignity of every human being and in ways that reveal the presence of the love and salvation we wish to spread”.

The Holy Father concluded his address asking God to bless all Armenians and preserve them in the faith received from their ancestors.

“May Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, Saint Gregory the Illuminator, ‘pillar of light for the Holy Church of the Armenians’, and Saint Gregory of Narek, Doctor of the Church, bless all of you and the entire Armenian nation.”

Below, please find the official translation of Pope Francis’ speech:

Address of His Holiness Pope Francis

Visit to the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral

Etchmiadzin, 24 June 2016

Venerable Brother,

Supreme Patriarch-Catholicos of All Armenians,

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is very moving for me to have crossed the threshold of this holy place, a witness to the history of your people and the centre from which its spirituality radiates.  I consider it a precious gift of God to be able to approach the holy altar from which the light of Christ shone forth in Armenia.  I greet the Catholicos of All the Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II, with heartfelt thanks for his gracious invitation to visit Holy Etchmiadzin, and all the Archbishops and Bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church.  I thank you for your cordial and joyful welcome.  Thank you, Your Holiness, for having welcomed me into your home.  This sign of love eloquently bespeaks, better than any words can do, the meaning of friendship and fraternal charity.

On this solemn occasion, I give thanks to the Lord for the light of faith kindled in your land, the faith that has given Armenia its particular identity and made it a herald of Christ among the nations.  Christ is your glory and your light.  He is the sun who has illuminated and enlivened you, accompanied and sustained you, especially in times of trial.  I bow before the mercy of the Lord, who willed that Armenia should become, in the year 301, the first nation to accept Christianity as its religion, at a time when persecutions still raged throughout the Roman Empire.

For Armenia, faith in Christ has not been like a garment to be donned or doffed as circumstances or convenience dictate, but an essential part of its identity, a gift of immense significance, to be accepted with joy, preserved with great effort and strength, even at the cost of life itself.  As Saint John Paul II wrote: “With the ‘baptism’ of the Armenian community… the people acquired a new identity that was to become a constitutive and inseparable part of Armenian life.  It would no longer be possible to think that faith did not figure as an essential element among the components of this identity” (Apostolic Letter for the 1700th Anniversary of the Baptism of the Armenian People [2 February 2001], 2).  May the Lord bless you for this luminous testimony of faith.  It is a shining example of the great efficacy and fruitfulness of the baptism received over seventeen hundred years ago, together with the eloquent and holy sign of martyrdom, which has constantly accompanied the history of your people.

I also thank the Lord for the journey that the Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church have undertaken through sincere and fraternal dialogue for the sake of coming to share fully in the Eucharistic banquet.  May the Holy Spirit help us to attain the unity for which our Lord prayed, so that his disciples may be one and the world may believe.  I gladly recall the decisive impulse given to developing closer relations and strengthening dialogue between our two Churches in recent years by Their Holinesses Vasken I and Karekin I, and by Saint John Paul II and by Benedict XVI.  As significant stages of this ecumenical engagement, I would mention: the commemoration of the Witnesses to the Faith in the twentieth century during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000; the consignment to Your Holiness of the relic of the Father of Christian Armenia, Saint Gregory the Illuminator, for the new Cathedral of Yerevan; the Joint Declaration of His Holiness John Paul II and Your Holiness, signed here in Holy Etchmiadzin; and the visits which Your Holiness has made to the Vatican for important events and commemorations.

Tragically, our world is marked by divisions and conflicts, as well as by grave forms of material and spiritual poverty, including the exploitation of persons, not least children and the elderly.  It expects from Christians a witness of mutual esteem and fraternal cooperation capable of revealing to every conscience the power and truth of Christ’s resurrection.  The patient and enduring commitment to full unity, the growth of joint initiatives and cooperation between all the Lord’s disciples in service to the common good: all these are like a radiant light in a dark night and a summons to experience even our differences in an attitude of charity and mutual understanding.  The spirit of ecumenism takes on an exemplary value also outside of the visible confines of the ecclesial community; it represents for everyone a forceful appeal to settle divergences with dialogue and appreciation for all that unites us.  It also prevents the exploitation and manipulation of faith, for it requires us to rediscover faith’s authentic roots, and to communicate, defend and spread truth with respect for the dignity of every human being and in ways that reveal the presence of the love and salvation we wish to spread.  In this way, we offer to the world – which so urgently needs it – a convincing witness that Christ is alive and at work, capable of opening new paths of reconciliation among the nations, civilizations and religions.  We offer a credible witness that God is love and mercy.

Dear brothers and sisters, when our actions are prompted by the power of Christ’s love, understanding and reciprocal esteem grow, a fruitful ecumenical journey becomes possible, and all people of goodwill, and society as a whole, are shown a concrete way to harmonize the conflicts that rend civil life and create divisions that prove hard to heal.  May Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, Saint Gregory the Illuminator, “pillar of light for the Holy Church of the Armenians”, and Saint Gregory of Narek, Doctor of the Church, bless all of you and the entire Armenian nation.  May he preserve you always in the faith you received from your ancestors, and to which you have borne glorious witness throughout the ages.

Pope says In Argentina ‘They Always Used the Word Genocide’

(Agencia Prensa Armenia)—Pope Francis gave a press conference during the flight from Armenia to Rome on Sunday, where he referred to the influence of the Armenian community of Argentina in his vision of the Armenian Genocide.

“In Argentina, when you spoke of the Armenian extermination, they always used the word genocide. I didn’t know another,” said Pope Francis. “At the cathedral in Buenos Aires, we put a stone cross in the third altar on the left, remembering the Armenian Genocide.” Pope Francis also said that he often shared Masses with his “Armenian friends” like Archbishop Kissag Mouradian and Bishop Vartan Boghossian. He also recognized that in the original speech the word genocide was not written and he added it.

“When I arrived in Rome, I heard other terms: ‘The Great Evil’ or the ‘terrible tragedy,’ but in Armenian, I don’t know how to say it…and they told me that that is offensive, and that you must say genocide,” added the Pope. He specified that he had always spoken of three genocides: the one by the Turks, by Hitler and Stalin.

“A lawyer told me that the word genocide is a technical word. It’s a word that is not a synonym of extermination. You can say extermination, but declaring genocide brings with it actions of reparation… Last year, when I was preparing the speech, I saw that St, John Paul II had used the word, that he used both Great Evil and genocide. I cited that one in quotation marks… and it wasn’t received well.”

“I was very happy last week when I saw a photograph of President Putin with the two Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents… at least they’re speaking! And also with Turkey and the president of the Republic in his welcoming speech spoke clearly, he had the courage to say: let’s come to an agreement, forgive each other, and look to the future. And this is a great courage for a people who have suffered so much, no? It’s the icon of the Armenian people,” concluded Pope Francis.

Pope Francis, Catholicos Sign Joint Declaration

ETCHMIADZIN–Pope Francis and Catholicos Karekin II, on Sunday signed a common declaration highlighting the progress toward Christian unity and appealing for peace in the Middle East and other regions torn apart by conflict, terrorism and religious persecution.

Below is the complete text of the declaration.

Joint Declaration of His Holiness Francis and His Holiness Karekin II at Holy Etchmiadzin, Republic Of Armenia

Today in Holy Etchmiadzin, spiritual center of All Armenians, we, Pope Francis and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II raise our minds and hearts in thanksgiving to the Almighty for the continuing and growing closeness in faith and love between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church in their common witness to the Gospel message of salvation in a world torn by strife and yearning for comfort and hope. We praise the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for enabling us to come together in the biblical land of Ararat, which stands as a reminder that God will ever be our protection and salvation. We are spiritually gratified to remember that in 2001, on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity as the religion of Armenia, Saint John Paul II visited Armenia and was a witness to a new page in warm and fraternal relations between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church. We are grateful that we had the grace of being together, at a solemn liturgy in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome on 12 April 2015, where we pledged our will to oppose every form of discrimination and violence, and commemorated the victims of what the Common Declaration of His Holiness John-Paul II and His Holiness Karekin II spoke of as “the extermination of a million and a half Armenian Christians, in what is generally referred to as the first genocide of the twentieth century” (27 September 2001).

We praise the Lord that today, the Christian faith is again a vibrant reality in Armenia, and that the Armenian Church carries on her mission with a spirit of fraternal collaboration between the Churches, sustaining the faithful in building a world of solidarity, justice and peace.

Sadly, though, we are witnessing an immense tragedy unfolding before our eyes, of countless innocent people being killed, displaced or forced into a painful and uncertain exile by continuing conflicts on ethnic, economic, political and religious grounds in the Middle East and other parts of the world. As a result, religious and ethnic minorities have become the target of persecution and cruel treatment, to the point that suffering for one’s religious belief has become a daily reality. The martyrs belong to all the Churches and their suffering is an “ecumenism of blood” which transcends the historical divisions between Christians, calling us all to promote the visible unity of Christ’s disciples. Together we pray, through the intercession of the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, for a change of heart in all those who commit such crimes and those who are in a position to stop the violence. We implore the leaders of nations to listen to the plea of millions of human beings who long for peace and justice in the world, who demand respect for their God-given rights, who have urgent need of bread, not guns. Sadly, we are witnessing a presentation of religion and religious values in a fundamentalist way, which is used to justify the spread of hatred, discrimination and violence. The justification of such crimes on the basis of religious ideas is unacceptable, for “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (I Corinthians 14:33). Moreover, respect for religious difference is the necessary condition for the peaceful cohabitation of different ethnic and religious communities. Precisely because we are Christians, we are called to seek and implement paths towards reconciliation and peace. In this regard we also express our hope for a peaceful resolution of the issues surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

Mindful of what Jesus taught his disciples when he said: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25: 35-36), we ask the faithful of our Churches to open their hearts and hands to the victims of war and terrorism, to refugees and their families. At issue is the very sense of our humanity, our solidarity, compassion and generosity, which can only be properly expressed in an immediate practical commitment of resources. We acknowledge all that is already being done, but we insist that much more is needed on the part of political leaders and the international community in order to ensure the right of all to live in peace and security, to uphold the rule of law, to protect religious and ethnic minorities, to combat human trafficking and smuggling.

The secularization of large sectors of society, its alienation from the spiritual and divine leads inevitably to a desacralized and materialistic vision of man and the human family. In this respect we are concerned about the crisis of the family in many countries. The Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church share the same vision of the family, based on marriage, an act of freely given and faithful love between man and woman.

We gladly confirm that despite continuing divisions among Christians, we have come to realize more clearly that what unites us is much more than what divides us. This is the solid basis upon which the unity of Christ’s Church will be made manifest, in accordance with the Lord’s words, “that they all may be one” (John 17.21). Over the past decades the relationship between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church has successfully entered a new phase, strengthened by our mutual prayers and joint efforts in overcoming contemporary challenges. Today we are convinced of the crucial importance of furthering this relationship, engaging in deeper and more decisive collaboration not only in the area of theology, but also in prayer and active cooperation on the level of the local communities, with a view to sharing full communion and concrete expressions of unity. We urge our faithful to work in harmony for the promotion in society of the Christian values which effectively contribute to building a civilization of justice, peace and human solidarity. The path of reconciliation and brotherhood lies open before us. May the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth (cf. John 16:13), sustain every genuine effort to build bridges of love and communion between us.

From Holy Etchmiadzin we call on all our faithful to join us in prayer, in the words of Saint Nerses the Gracious: “Glorified Lord, accept the supplications of Your servants, and graciously fulfil our petitions, through the intercession of the Holy Mother of God, John the Baptist, the first martyr Saint Stephen, Saint Gregory our Illuminator, the Holy Apostles, Prophets, Divines, Martyrs, Patriarchs, Hermits, Virgins and all Your saints in Heaven and on Earth. And unto You, O indivisible Holy Trinity, be glory and worship forever and ever. Amen”.

Holy Etchmiadzin, 26 June 2016

Sarkisian says New Recognitions of Armenian Genocide Expected after Pope, Bundestag

YEREVAN (Reuters)—Armenia expects more countries to recognize the Armenian Genocide after remarks by Pope Francis and the stance taken by Germany’s parliament, its president said.

During a visit to Armenia on Friday, the Pope departed from his prepared text to use the term.

“The principled position of the Pope and the views expressed by the Bundestag will pave the way for new recognitions by other nations,” President Serzh Sarkisian told Reuters in an interview.

“Germany is a very significant actor on the international stage and this (decision) will serve as a good example for other nations to follow and learn from it,” he said.

Sarkisian criticized Turkey’s position over its aspiration to join the European Union, saying Ankara was trying to use a policy of dictatorship to bring pressure to bear on the bloc.

“I don’t think that Turkey is … an actor that can impose its views, or exercise pressure, on the European Union,” he said.

“I don’t honestly see any prospects that would pave the way for Turkey joining the EU.”