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Commemoration of the Armenian Martyrs

A SERVICE OF COMMEMORATION of the Armenian Martyrs of 1915 was held at
Westminster Abbey at 7.00 pm on Wednesday 28th October. The service was
attended by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, His Excellency Mr Serzh Sargsyan, President of Armenia, His
Royal Highness Prince Charles of Wales, His Excellency Dr Armen Sarkissian
the Armenian ambassador to the Court of St James, and members of the
Armenian Government. Addresses were given by the Catholicos and by
Richard Chartres, Bishop of London.

Address by His Holiness Karekin II

Glory and thanksgiving to God on High as we are blessed to be in attendance
here at Westminster Abbey, rich with spiritual tradition, participating in this
Ecumenical Service to celebrate the lives of the newly sainted martyrs of 1915,
together with the honourable President of Armenia Mr. Serzh Sargsyan, the
clergy and the faithful.
We are thankful to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, for joining
us today. His love and admiration for our people and our country we have felt
on various occasions, most particularly during his visit to Armenia.
Our brotherly love we convey to His Grace the Most Reverend and
Right Honourable Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, together with
whom we are called to spread the light of the Gospel of our Lord and to fulfill
Christ’s message in the lives of our people.
We are comforted that through this joint Ecumenical prayer the Church
of England and the people of the United Kingdom stand in brotherly solidarity
with our people through this expression of respect towards the newly sainted
Armenian Martyrs.
Dear brothers and sisters,
The hearts of our people have not yet healed from the wound of the
Armenian genocide which was perpetrated by Ottoman Empire at the dawn of
the twentieth century, during which one and a half million Armenians perished
because of their national identity and Christian faith. We lost the majority of
our historic ancestral homeland. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were
deported and scattered throughout the whole world. The martyred children of
our people accepted the crown of martyrdom, faithful to the words of the
apostle, ‘And if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid

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