Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II has released a message on the occasion of the day of remembrance of the holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. The message runs as follows, in particular:

"A hundred and more years ago, one and a half million Armenians testified their loyalty to our God-given homeland and faith at the cost of their lives, rejecting apostasy and assimilation. They kept alive their faith and hope for the revival of our people. The [Armenian Genocide] Tsitsernakaberd Memorial [in Yerevan] symbolizes that revival, which became a reality with the re-establishment of independent statehood in a small part of the homeland, as well as with the re-sprouting of a new life for Armenians who survived the genocide in different countries of the world.

"Today in Armenia and Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] and in the [Armenian] diaspora world, in nationally united churches, in front of the memorials, we raise a prayer to God, asking for the intercession of the holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide, so that with unity and indomitable will we can face the horrors and threats, fight for the victory of the just cause of Armenians, and contribute to the prevention of genocidal acts and crimes in the life of our people and in the world.”