FEAST OF THE HOLY MARTYRS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

On Saturday, April 24, the Armenian Church commemorates the Feast of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. With the canonization of the martyrs in 2015, the Armenian Church added a new Feast Day to the Armenian liturgical calendar— The Feast of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide.

The Martyrs, like all other saints, are invoked to intercede for us; and the Church no longer conducts requiem services (hokehankeesd) for the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. All feast days in the church are celebrated by singing hymns (sharagans) and reading selections from the Holy Scriptures. The Canon of Hymns dedicated to the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide was written and composed in 1990 by Archbishop Zareh Aznavorian, of blessed memory, a member of the Brotherhood of the Holy See of Cilicia.

The Armenian Church canonized the Martyrs on April 23, 2015, in the centennial of the Genocide. “We canonize the Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide and declare April 24 to be the day of commemoration of the Holy Martyrs, who were killed during the Armenian Genocide for their faith and for their fatherland,” reads the declaration of the synod of bishops.