Representatives of Chicago’s Armenian community gathered at St. James Armenian Church in Evanston city on October 25 to take part in the opening of a traditional khachkar (stone cross), Chicago Tribune reports.  

Khajag Barsamian, archbishop of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of American, led the ceremony, dedicated to "the uniquely Armenian monument in honor of the canonization of over 1.5 million martyrs of the 1915 Armenian Genocide."

Last April world leaders attended ceremonies commemorating the Armenians killed in the Ottoman Turkey a century ago, the newspaper writes.

According to Rev. Hovhan Khoja-Eynatyan, the pastor of St. James, the khachkar "was carved out of tuff stone in Armenia this summer and then shipped to Evanston."

It’s noteworthy that on the day of khachkar opening, the Armenian community of Chicago was celebrating its 70th anniversary.