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YEREVAN, MAY 8, ARMENPRESS. Even if the term “genocide” was not yet part of vocabulary of international law, what happened against the Armenian people was, by its very intent and method, a genocide and the genocide is a crime against humanity. His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia stated this at the course of the interreligious prayer devoted to the Armenian Genocide held at Washington National Cathedral on May 7.
As reports “Armenpress”, in his sermon, Aram I particularly underscored: “The centennial of the Armenian genocide is defined by three key words and these are – to remember, to remind, and to claim. These three dimensions and challenges of this landmark event are closely interconnected.
We remember the martyrs of the Armenian genocide. In fact, we always remember the genocide in our reflections and actions, our martyrs are integral, insuperable and existential part of our daily life. They are living present in all aspects and spheres and expression of our individual and common life.
With their spiritual and moral values and human ideals they sustain our life, and they become the guiding post, the guiding lines of our common life in this world. Indeed, our martyrs are the blood of our church and the sustaining power of Armenian life.”
“In commemorating and remembering our martyrs we remind the world the second legacy of our martyrs. In 1915 a well-planned and systematically organized genocide took place against the Armenian people, today some people may, for geopolitical reasons, refer to it as a Great Tragedy, others may depict is massacre and simply as relocation because of wartime, but what happened in 1915 was a genocide,” His Holiness concluded.