BOSTON, Mass.—His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios will lead the first ever Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston commemoration of the Armenian Genocide at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England on April 22.
The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England
His Eminence will host this 102nd commemorative event and preside at the 2 p.m. prayer service.
Clergy and faithful from throughout New England will participate. The community will be joined by ecumenical and interreligious guests and civic dignitaries.
Last year, Cardinal Seán O’Malley of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston hosted the event and repeated the words of Pope Francis acknowledging the suffering of Armenian Christians who perished in the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.
The year’s prayer service will be co-sponsored with the Massachusetts Council of Churches of which the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston and the Armenian Church in America are both members.
Joining in the commemoration will be His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian of The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America and His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan from The Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. They serve as the two Armenian Orthodox leaders in the Eastern United States.
His Excellency Bishop Mikael Mouradian, who leads the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of the United States and Canada, will be represented by his vicar general, Monsignor Andon Atamian together with The Armenian Evangelical Clergy and congregations participating in the service.
On the eve of the 100th Armenian Genocide memorial service, at Trinity Church in Copley Square, together with heads of churches and church leaders, Metropolitan Methodios said:
“Tonight, we re-read that shameful chapter of history and promise ourselves never to forget those who endured that most barbaric and savage massacre. In a single year, 1915, the Armenian people were robbed of their 3000-year-old heritage. The desecration of churches, the burning of libraries, the destruction of towns and villages, were systematic attempts to erase an ancient civilization. With the disappearance from their homeland, most of the symbols of Armenian culture—schools, monasteries, artistic monuments, historical sites—were destroyed. The Armenian spirit, however, could not be destroyed. While our Armenian brothers and sisters lost their homes—their very lives—they were not about to surrender their most precious treasures—their language, their songs, their poetry, their dreams, their visions, their Faith, their resolve to survive.”
His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios will lead the first ever Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston commemoration of the Armenian Genocide at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England on April 22.
Throughout the centuries, Armenians and Greeks have shared a deep relationship. In 2008, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited the Armenian Holy See of Etchmiadzin and attended the Blessing of the Holy Oil together with His Holiness, Karekin the II, Catholicos of All Armenians. Together they expressed the unity of the Church.