Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Yerevan (Agenzia Fides) - A major exhibit consisting of 20 panels with over 150 historic photographs documenting the role of the Armenian Church during the Armenian Genocide with testimony from survivors and witnesses will be released: this is the aim of an exhibit available online: www.armenian - genocide.org, set up in view of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide with the contribution of the Armenian National Institute, the Armenian Genocide Museum of America and the Armenian Assembly of America in collaboration with the Armenian apostolic Catholicosate of Echmiadzin.
The online exhibit, titled "The First Refuge and the Last Defense: The Armenian Church, Etchmiadzin, and The Armenian Genocide", examines the vital leadership role played by the clergy during the Armenian Genocide, especially the all-important intervention of His Holiness Catholicos Gevorg V Sureniants in alerting world leaders about the massacres, effectively issuing the first 'early warning' of an impending genocide.
The exhibit provides ample evidence of the aid extended by fellow Armenians to the refugees fleeing Ottoman Turkey as the Young Turk regime pursued its path toward the destruction of the Armenians. It is now almost forgotten that the first people to come to the aid of the fleeing and starving were Armenians across the Russian-Turkish border who welcomed their countrymen into their homes and threw open the doors to their schools, hospitals, and other facilities to house, care, and feed the hungry, the sick, and the homeless. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 04/03/2014)
