WASHINGTON, DC – As we approach Holy Week on the Christian calendar, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomes the call by Armenian American religious leaders for a National Day of Prayer on Sunday, April 24 in celebration of Easter and in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

“We welcome the leadership of our faith community in calling for a National Day of Prayer this Easter that celebrates the God-given miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his earthly death upon the cross, and also marks the rebirth of the Armenians and other Christian nations after their near destruction in the fires of hatred that consumed them in the Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

A Facebook page – Resurrection and Recognition: National Day of Prayer on April 24 – has been launched as part of a broad-based campaign to share this call to prayer with a worldwide audience. To register support for the effort, visit: http://www.facebook.com/dayofprayer and click “Like” then share the page with friends. Efforts are also underway to broaden the support and participation of non-Armenian Christian churches and organizations throughout the United States.

Last week, Armenian Christian religious leaders spoke eloquently about April 24th as a blessed opportunity for the Armenian community and all people of good conscience to spend a day devoted to prayer, a day when their unified voices would lead to a renewed sense of commitment to our spiritual and national aspirations.

“As children of the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, on this Holy Day of Easter, we call upon our Christian brothers and sisters as well as people of all faiths to pray with us for the two million Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Pontians, and Greeks, who fell victim to the Ottoman Empire’s World War I-era genocide of its Christian minorities, and for justice and peace to prevail in our world,” said the statement, signed by Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian; Archbishop Hovnan Derderian; Very Reverend Father Krikor Chahinian; and Reverend Joseph D. Matossian.

“As Christians, on April 24th we will celebrate the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the salvation of mankind. On that same day, as Armenians, we will commemorate the rebirth of our people from the ashes of merciless genocide. We will mark our resurrection as a people from the persecution that nearly consumed us a century ago.”

Click here for the full text of the statement by Armenian clergy.

ANCA Outlines Turkey’s “Path to True Forgiveness”; Cites Return of Confiscated Religious Properties as a Good Start

Echoing the Easter message of resurrection and repentance, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian outlined the path to “true and enduring redemption for the Republic of Turkey through repentance and return.” Hamparian explained:

“For Turkey’s leaders and government, the difficult path to true forgiveness must pass through a sincere confession of past sins and an apology for all harm [as well as] the full return of all that must rightfully be rendered to the victims of its crimes. . . There can be no better place to start than the immediate return of all churches, monasteries, relics, and other religious properties, not only to the Armenians, but to all the Christians of these ancient Biblical lands.”

Click here to read Hamparian’s complete statement.