Anglicans represented at Armenian Genocide Commemorations in Yerevan


The annual commemoration of the Armenian genocide every April 24th brings up deep emotional memories in Armenians throughout the world. This year marks the 99th anniversary of the beginning of the massacres in 1915. 

It is a particularly moving event in Armenia itself as the population remembers the many ethnic Armenians, estimated at between 1 and 1.5 million, who lost their lives throughout the Ottoman Empire. Hundreds of thousands gather at the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan. Yesterday, the Anglican congregation in Yerevan was represented at the national commemorations when Fr John Barker, the priest-in-charge, laid flowers and said a prayer for the repose of the victims. He wrote that "Mount Ararat was looking particularly beautiful and could be clearly seen by the hundreds of thousands of people who visited the memorial and left flowers".


If you use Common Worship: Daily Prayer, you may be familiar with the beautiful prayer from the Armenian Church's liturgy: 

Keep us in peace, O Christ our God, 
under the protection of your holy and venerable cross; 
save us from our enemies, visible and invisible, 
and count us worthy to glorify you with thanksgiving, 
with the Father and the Holy Spirit, 
now and for ever, world without end. Amen (CW:DP pg 407)



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