ON THE OCCASION OF THE 110TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE & THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CANONISATION OF THE HOLY MARTYRS.

April 24, 2025, London, United Kingdom – Today marks the 110th anniversary of the most tragic event in our joint Armenian history. On April 24, 1915, hundreds of Armenian intellectuals – lawyers, doctors, musicians, poets, and more — were rounded up and slaughtered or exiled in the second phase of a horrific plan to exterminate the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire. This was the first state-planned Genocide of the 20th century, before the crime was known by that name. Today, we join our brothers and sisters across the world in solemn dignity, remembrance, and mourning of the one and a half million Armenians – men, women, and children – who perished during the Genocide.

On the evening of April 23, 2025, His Grace Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, the Primate of the Armenian Church in the UK and Ireland held an Intercessory Prayer and Remembrance Evening Service at London’s St Yeghiche Armenian Church. This deeply significant occasion brought together clergy, diplomats, community leaders, and members of the public for an evening of prayer and sombre reflection. The event also marked the 10th anniversary of the Canonisation of the Holy Martyrs by His Holiness Karekin II – an event that canonised all martyrs of the 1915 Genocide as the first saints of the Armenian Church in hundreds of years.

Bishop Hovakim opened the solemn evening by offering his condolences on the recent passing of Pope Francis, the spiritual father of the Catholic Church and a striking example of compassion and commitment to truth and justice. “I will never forget our meeting in 2014, when our Catholicos, His Holiness Karekin II, visited the Vatican. In his address, Pope Francis said something that echoed through history,” he recounted, “The Armenians have given more martyrs at the beginning of the 20th century than all Christians in the first few centuries of Christianity”. May his memory remain a blessing for generations.

The canonisation of the Holy Martyrs was by far the most significant event in the history of our Church, forever weaving their collective sacrifice into the fabric of our faith. “Though canonised as one, each martyr had a name,” Bishop Hovakim spoke. “Each had a face. Each had a story. Men and women, clergy and laity, the elderly and children—all walked the path of Calvary in the deserts of the Ottoman Empire. Their silent endurance, their prayers through pain, became a witness not only for Armenians but for all of Christianity.”

Following the Bishop’s opening remarks, the clergy and choir led a sombre Intercessory Prayer Service, bringing the attendants together in memory, deep reflection, and hope within the tall sacred halls of St Yeghiche. The short yet resonant liturgy set a solemn tone for the rest of the remembrance programme, which also featured musical and poetic tributes honouring the Holy Martyrs – among them the talented young violinist Polina Sharafyan, who enriched the evening with mournful melodies.

Among the ecumenical guests and community representatives invited to this special occasion were H.E. Archbishop Athanasius Toma of the Syriac Orthodox Church, H.E. Varuzhan Nersesyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the UK, and Monsignor Roger Reader on behalf of H.E. Vincent Cardinal Nichols of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster.

Mr Nersesyan reflected on the origin of the word “genocide,” which was coined by the Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin years after the horrific events of 1915-1923. “But the efforts to define it [genocide], to understand it, and prevent it didn’t come easily. It took decades. It took voices that refused to look away,” said Mr Nersesyan in his address, “Lemkin didn’t invent the idea of genocide. He identified it.”

Monsignor Roger Reader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster expressed his deep reverence and profound solidarity, reinforcing the Catholic Church’s commitment to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Armenian Church and people on his day of remembrance. “We believe in the Resurrection. We proclaim that from the deepest darkness, God brings light; from death, life; from the tomb, hope,” he remarked, “The Catholic Church remains committed to walking alongside our Armenian brothers and sisters not only in their sorrow but also in their hope–for justice, for peace, for healing, and for a future where the dignity of every Armenian, and indeed every human being, is recognised and protected”.

The programme concluded with the keynote meditation from Dr Harry Hagopian, Public International Lawyer & Knight of the Papal Order of St Gregory, who delivered his work-in-progress speech titled “Memory, Martyrdom and Meaning: A Century of Witness”. Dr Hagopian reflected on the harsh reality of the struggle for recognition of genocide amid current-day geopolitics. “In 1915 and in 1939, the UK government recognised that genocide had happened. But then the glitch came.” The “glitch” is trade deals. It is the export of crude oil to the UK from Azerbaijan. It is the prioritisation of natural resources and the economy over real human suffering, for which our prisoners held hostage in Baku are paying the price.

The suffering of the Armenian people did not end in 1915. Tragically, the descendants of those who once sought to annihilate our people continue to do so through the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. And so, while we give thanks for the martyrs, we also hear a call: memory must lead to responsibility. Remembrance of the Martyrs is not only about loss, but about resilience, dignity, and the promise of renewal. We must make a promise to never be silent in the face of suffering, to defend the truth when it is inconvenient, and to raise our children with eyes open to history and hearts open to compassion. We must mirror the martyrs’ sacrifice in our courage, in our faith, and in our love.