Beirut, Lebanon

By the presidency of His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Catholicos Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics, and with the participation of the Armenian Catholic parishes, associations and schools, on the night of April 23 the Armenian Genocide was commemorated in the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate. Hundreds of Armenians gathered during this event to pledge their loyalty to the legacy of their victims.

At the beginning, the parish priest of the Annunciation church, father Vartan Kazandjian explained the different stations of the event by describing it as a moving event which meant that the audience had to move around to participate in the different sections of the whole event.

First, the audience lit candles and prayed for the souls of the victims, after which they were shown a documentary concerning the Armenian history and Genocide.

The artist-painter Raffi Yedalian, presented a painting titled "Surviving Witnesses". 301 Lebanese Armenians as well as other Lebanese sympathizers participated in the completion of the artwork, by placing their fingerprints to signify themselves as witnesses and descendents of the victims of Genocide. The painting has been donated to the Armenian Genocide Museum in Yerevan, Armenia.

A different corner was dedicated to the Armenian media, where different publications that have dealt with the Armenian Genocide issue were presented. Father Antranig Granian emphasized on the fact that the Armenian media has an essential value in telling about the Armenian Genocide to the young generations.

During the event, the Lebanese director Carmen Labaki gave a speech in which she mentioned that Armenians in spite of all the tragedies in their history have faced all obstacles and still exist and stand still. She assured that Armenians relived because of their strong will and faith.

The second speaker of the day was Vicken Ashkarian, who told the audience that April 24 has stopped being a day for mourning and has turned into a day of renewing the spirit of struggle. Ashkarian stated that it is impossible to have any sort of neighboring relations with Turkey as long as justice is not done. 

The last speaker of the day was the representative of UCIP in Lebanon father Tony Khadra, who mentioned that the International Society has to admit and recognize the Armenian

Genocide because it is one of the most tragic happenings in the human history. He also mentioned that Armenians have always played an important role in strengthening the inter-Christian relations.

After the speeches Marie-Teresse Minasian played on the guitar and the “Groung” choir performed a few hymns.

At the end, His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX lit the candle of peace placed in front of the Genocide memorial and the ceremony ended with prayer.