Armenian Church to canonize martyrs of genocide. Ankara unhappy
Istanbul
(AsiaNews) - In a move that has surprised Turkey , the Armenian Church is going
to proceed with the canonization of the victims of the Armenian Genocide
perpetrated by the Turkish State in 1915, using Kurdish laborers for the massacres.
The
scientifically perpetrated genocide by, is described by the Turkish historian
Taner Akcam as "A shameful act " (the title of his book ) . But
the Ankara government has never recognized it and rejects the definition of
" genocide."
Sources
quoted by Turkish newspapers say the canonization will take place in 2015, the
centenary of the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians killed in Asia Minor.
The main source of this news is ASAM, The research center of Turkey's Eurasian
strategy , according to which the great synod of the Armenian Church was
summoned to Yerevan the capital of ' Armenia. There
is one important fact: for the first time after 400 years - that is, after 1651
- bishops who came from all over the world attended this synod: a real novelty
in the history of the Armenian Church.
The
synod - held at the end of September - was attended by the Archbishop of
Etsmiatzin , (considered the most sacred city for Armenians ), the Armenian
Archbishop of Lebanon, where there is also a large community, which escaped the
genocide ; the
bishops of the United States, Jerusalem , South America, France and the places
where there are Armenian communities of the Diaspora.
During
the gathering the decision was made to canonize all the victims of ' horrific
genocide perpetrated by the Ottomans first and then the Turks of Kemal Ataturk
. The
canonization will follow the formula of the tradition of the Eastern Churches,
which is the proclaiming of the saints , stating the name of the place of
martyrdom and not the names of the individuals.
The
decision of the Armenian synod has shaken Turkey. The
President of ASAM , Ömer Özkaya , says the decision has political motivations
and he points out that all the bishops of the Armenian Church gathered for the
first time after 400 years in order to give maximum visibility to the "alleged"
(according to the Turkish
) Armenian Genocide , proceeding to the canonization of victims of genocide. Ömer
Özkaya noted, however, that in this way , the Armenians , give another religious
, dimension to the dispute between Diaspora communities and Turkey.
Another
fact that has not escaped notice is that the synod was convened in religious heart
of Armenia, Etsimiatzin , which is the great religious reference point for
Armenians .
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24/10/2019 17:56
24/04/2015
