The pain that the Armenians of Jerusalem feel is still alive. It has been one hundred years since that tragic event on April 24, 1915, and it is still like an open wound.
On Friday, April 24, at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, an ecumenical prayer took place with the participation of religious leaders from the local church and the diplomatic corps.
The prayer not only was intended to commemorate what happened in the past, but also to bring awareness to the suffering that so many Christians are experiencing today.
Fr. ARTEMIO VITORES, ofm
Custody of the Holy Land
During this time of disappearance for Christianity in this area, it is right for us to show a little solidarity with all of our Christian brothers, and Christian unity (...) is a question of love. “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” I think this is the fundamental meaning of all of this.
H.E. Mons. GIUSEPPE LAZZAROTTO
Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Apostolic Delegate for Jerusalem and Palestine
The communion between the churches is also a great gesture of solidarity with the Armenian people and with their sufferings that unfortunately have been repeated today with many other Christian communities.
Fr. KOLYUM BAGDASARIAN
Armenian Apostolic Church of Jerusalem
Today we had this special ecumenical prayer with the participation of the Patriarchs, the Custos of the Holy Land, the Heads of Churches and the Diplomatic Corps. Their presence is a witness to their solidarity with our pain.
The Armenians of Jerusalem have their own neighborhood that makes up one-sixth of the Old City, inside the walls. It is a community that has been present here since the first centuries, but as a result of the genocide, it has doubled in population. The Armenian Patriarchate of the Holy City still continues to play an important role in preserving the centuries of culture of this civilization that is still in diaspora.
GEORGETTE AVAKIAN
Armenian Case Commitee
It is very important now that all the churches, all of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, are here to participate in this special prayer for the Armenian martyrs. I am very proud that my grandfather was among them.
GEORGE ANTLIAN
Armenian
This is a unique event in the history of Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulcher and I think it is mainly inspired by Pope Francis’ ecumenical spirit. I think the coming together of all of these Christian families reflects not only the historical fact of the Armenian genocide but also the plight of Christians in the region.
GEORGE ANTLIAN
Armeno
I am of the first generation since the genocide, my grandfather was killed along with my uncle.
I believe that 100 years are few yet many at the same time. It is painful but we will not give up.
“Remembering is necessary. In fact, it is a duty because when there is no longer remembrance, this means that evil is still holding the wound open; hiding or denying evil is like leaving a wound to bleed without treating it!”
POPE FRANCIS
Your Beatitude Nourhan Manooghian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem
Your Betitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem,
Your Beatitude Fwad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem,
Excellencies, Brothers and sisters.
1. I want first to congratulate H. B. the Armenian Patriarch, for this initiative that brings all the Churches of Jerusalem here at the Holy Sepulcher, the heart of Christian Jerusalem, for a common prayer in the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, that took place in these lands 100 years ago and that brought to barbaric death millions of Armenians, but also Greeks, Syrians and many others. Then Christians, as many times in their long history, have been killed, displaced and scattered along all the Middle East, just for being Christians. Then, all Middle East was again on fire, and at the vigil of dramatic changes, with consequences that are still visible nowadays. Then everyone was thinking that the Christian presence in Middle East was going to be cancelled for ever: their persecution was the only certainty the Christians knew.
2. And after 100 years we are still here, with a similar phenomenon, especially in Syria and Iraq, but in other part of the Middle East Countries too, with persecution and killing of Christians just for being Christians. But we have to remember here also other non Christian communities that are today under the target of fanatics, and also many Muslims.
3. Like then anyway, we Christians are scared and scattered, but not annihilated. In this very Place, the place of the resurrection of Christ, the heart of the Christian hope, we cannot despair.
4. We know, after all, that the present is not the only ‘tense’. A brief look at the history will teach us that, in spite of all, Christ remains our past, our Present and our Future, he is “who is, and who was, and who is to come” (Rev 1, 8) and his presence, the Church, will endure in spite of all the persecutions. The Christian hope is to see in the seed that rots the ear of wheat; is the ability to discern the times knowing that HERE Christ has overcome the world (John 16: 33).
5. We who have the grace to live in this Blessed Land, are called, like the first women and the first disciples to run from here and announce to the scared group locked up in the Cenacle that He, the Christ, is alive. And He is alive today thanks to the testimony that thousand of simple Christians, from all the churches and communities, are giving everyday with their fidelity to Jesus, in these dramatic situations and in these lands.
6. But as important and fascinating this could be, we must not stop at the Holy Sepulcher, in a sort of homage to piety. The message of this Place is indeed an announcement of joy and enthusiasm, is always to look beyond the horizon to see the profiles of dawn.
"Go and tell his disciples and Peter that he goes before you ... "
Where? Everywhere. In Galilee and the mountain: in the Cenacle and on the road to Emmaus: in the sea and in the deserts, wherever man plant his tent, breaks his bread, builds his city, weeping and singing, sighing and cursing. "He is going before you." Here is the message of this Place. If getting up from the veneration of this Tomb, like the first Apostles, we have a soul willing to follow him anywhere, "everywhere we shall see him, as he said"
7. This what many Armenians did 100 years ago, and what many other Christiansare doing also today.
8. May the Lord give to you and all of us, on the example of the Christians of 100 years ago, the strength to be authentic witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On Friday, April 24, at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, an ecumenical prayer took place with the participation of religious leaders from the local church and the diplomatic corps.
The prayer not only was intended to commemorate what happened in the past, but also to bring awareness to the suffering that so many Christians are experiencing today.
Fr. ARTEMIO VITORES, ofm
Custody of the Holy Land
During this time of disappearance for Christianity in this area, it is right for us to show a little solidarity with all of our Christian brothers, and Christian unity (...) is a question of love. “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” I think this is the fundamental meaning of all of this.
H.E. Mons. GIUSEPPE LAZZAROTTO
Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Apostolic Delegate for Jerusalem and Palestine
The communion between the churches is also a great gesture of solidarity with the Armenian people and with their sufferings that unfortunately have been repeated today with many other Christian communities.
Fr. KOLYUM BAGDASARIAN
Armenian Apostolic Church of Jerusalem
Today we had this special ecumenical prayer with the participation of the Patriarchs, the Custos of the Holy Land, the Heads of Churches and the Diplomatic Corps. Their presence is a witness to their solidarity with our pain.
The Armenians of Jerusalem have their own neighborhood that makes up one-sixth of the Old City, inside the walls. It is a community that has been present here since the first centuries, but as a result of the genocide, it has doubled in population. The Armenian Patriarchate of the Holy City still continues to play an important role in preserving the centuries of culture of this civilization that is still in diaspora.
GEORGETTE AVAKIAN
Armenian Case Commitee
It is very important now that all the churches, all of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, are here to participate in this special prayer for the Armenian martyrs. I am very proud that my grandfather was among them.
GEORGE ANTLIAN
Armenian
This is a unique event in the history of Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulcher and I think it is mainly inspired by Pope Francis’ ecumenical spirit. I think the coming together of all of these Christian families reflects not only the historical fact of the Armenian genocide but also the plight of Christians in the region.
GEORGE ANTLIAN
Armeno
I am of the first generation since the genocide, my grandfather was killed along with my uncle.
I believe that 100 years are few yet many at the same time. It is painful but we will not give up.
“Remembering is necessary. In fact, it is a duty because when there is no longer remembrance, this means that evil is still holding the wound open; hiding or denying evil is like leaving a wound to bleed without treating it!”
POPE FRANCIS
Your Beatitude Nourhan Manooghian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem
Your Betitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem,
Your Beatitude Fwad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem,
Excellencies, Brothers and sisters.
1. I want first to congratulate H. B. the Armenian Patriarch, for this initiative that brings all the Churches of Jerusalem here at the Holy Sepulcher, the heart of Christian Jerusalem, for a common prayer in the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, that took place in these lands 100 years ago and that brought to barbaric death millions of Armenians, but also Greeks, Syrians and many others. Then Christians, as many times in their long history, have been killed, displaced and scattered along all the Middle East, just for being Christians. Then, all Middle East was again on fire, and at the vigil of dramatic changes, with consequences that are still visible nowadays. Then everyone was thinking that the Christian presence in Middle East was going to be cancelled for ever: their persecution was the only certainty the Christians knew.
2. And after 100 years we are still here, with a similar phenomenon, especially in Syria and Iraq, but in other part of the Middle East Countries too, with persecution and killing of Christians just for being Christians. But we have to remember here also other non Christian communities that are today under the target of fanatics, and also many Muslims.
3. Like then anyway, we Christians are scared and scattered, but not annihilated. In this very Place, the place of the resurrection of Christ, the heart of the Christian hope, we cannot despair.
4. We know, after all, that the present is not the only ‘tense’. A brief look at the history will teach us that, in spite of all, Christ remains our past, our Present and our Future, he is “who is, and who was, and who is to come” (Rev 1, 8) and his presence, the Church, will endure in spite of all the persecutions. The Christian hope is to see in the seed that rots the ear of wheat; is the ability to discern the times knowing that HERE Christ has overcome the world (John 16: 33).
5. We who have the grace to live in this Blessed Land, are called, like the first women and the first disciples to run from here and announce to the scared group locked up in the Cenacle that He, the Christ, is alive. And He is alive today thanks to the testimony that thousand of simple Christians, from all the churches and communities, are giving everyday with their fidelity to Jesus, in these dramatic situations and in these lands.
6. But as important and fascinating this could be, we must not stop at the Holy Sepulcher, in a sort of homage to piety. The message of this Place is indeed an announcement of joy and enthusiasm, is always to look beyond the horizon to see the profiles of dawn.
"Go and tell his disciples and Peter that he goes before you ... "
Where? Everywhere. In Galilee and the mountain: in the Cenacle and on the road to Emmaus: in the sea and in the deserts, wherever man plant his tent, breaks his bread, builds his city, weeping and singing, sighing and cursing. "He is going before you." Here is the message of this Place. If getting up from the veneration of this Tomb, like the first Apostles, we have a soul willing to follow him anywhere, "everywhere we shall see him, as he said"
7. This what many Armenians did 100 years ago, and what many other Christiansare doing also today.
8. May the Lord give to you and all of us, on the example of the Christians of 100 years ago, the strength to be authentic witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.