Thousands attend ecumenical service at Washington’s National Cathedral

Thousands attend ecumenical service at Washington’s National Cathedral –

An ecumenical service marking the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey was held at Washington’s National Cathedral on Thursday evening. 

The ceremonies in Washington dedicated to the Genocide Centennial that day were led by Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and His Holiness Aram I, the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. 

United States Vice President Joseph Biden and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power joined President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the top Armenian clerics in the prayer service, reported massispost.com, adding that more than two thousand Armenian Americans filled the iconic sanctuary in the solemn centennial anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century.

In his speech, President Sargsyan reportedly described the ceremony as very symbolic. Voice of America quoted the Armenian leader as saying that during its century-long struggle for justice the Armenian people has always felt the assistance of the American people and expressing a hope that formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United States was not an question of “if”, but “when”. 

Sargsyan attended the ceremony at the end of his three-day working visit to Washington, DC, that included meetings with U.S. officials as well as representatives of the local Armenian community.