The Armenian Apostolic Church will canonize all victims of the Armenian genocide on April 23.
The Armenian Apostolic Church will canonize all victims of the Armenian genocide on April 23.
On April 24, the world will mark the 100th anniversary of the genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Some 1.5 million people fell victims to the mass killings. However, Turkey does not officially recognize this fact.
On April 12, Pope Francis served a mass in memory of the victims of the genocide of Armenians. The mass was attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
During the mass, the pope called the mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire genocide. That was the first time a pope used the term "genocide" referring to the 1915 events.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry sharply criticized the pope's statement and summoned the Vatican ambassador to Turkey for explanations.