1.5 Million Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide Canonized into the Sainthood

WD Newsletter
On April 23, 2015, 1.5 million martyred Armenian souls will rest in the abode of the heavenly saints. On Thursday, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians accompanied by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia officiated the biggest canonization service in history. The two hour ceremony, held outside of the Cathedral of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, proclaimed the martyrdom of those killed for their faith and homeland. The historic day marked the first time in 400 years that the Armenian Church has used the rite of canonization. The ceremony was attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and other high-ranking dignitaries and ecumenical guests. Twelve bishops and archbishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church participated in the ceremonial rite.

During the canonization ceremony, by order of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the following fourteen Holy Relics, out of the numerous Holy relics of the Armenian Church, were used during the landmark service.

1. The Holy Lance ‘Geghard’

The Holy Lance is the tip of the metal spear which was used by the Roman soldier to pierce the side of our Lord Jesus Christ while he hung on the cross. According to historical tradition, the Apostle St. Thaddeus, one of the 12 disciples of Christ, brought this sacred relic of the Lord to the Armenian world in the first century. For centuries the Holy Christian relic has been kept at different monasteries in Western (historical) Armenia, and in Ayrivank since the 13th century, which later was renamed Geghardavanq (the Monastery of Holy Geghard) after the Holy Lance. In the second half of the 18th century the Holy Lance was brought to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and is still kept in the spiritual center of All Armenians. The Holy Lance is also one of the three Holy Relics used to bless and consecrate the Holy Chrism (Muron) of the Armenian Church.

2. The Right Hand of St. Gregory the Illuminator

The Right Hand of St. Gregory the Illuminator is the symbol of the highest spiritual authority of the Armenian Church, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The newer silver gilded reliquary was made in 1657, on which is depicted the twelve sufferings of the Illuminator. The Right Hand is also one of the three Holy Relics used to bless and consecrate the Holy Chrism (Muron) of the Armenian Church.

3. Relic of the True Cross

The Reliquary of the True Cross, made in 1651, contains a small piece of the life-giving wooden cross of our Lord Jesus. The Cross relic is one of the three Holy Relics used to bless and consecrate the Holy Chrism (Muron) of the Armenian Church.

4. Reliquary of Skevra

One of the priceless gems of Armenian ecclesiastical art is the reliquary of Skevra which was made in Cilician Armenia in 1293, and is kept in the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg. The reliquary contains the relics of 18 saints: the Apostles St. Paul, St. Peter, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew; St. Gregory the Illuminator, Patriarch James of Nisibis, Saint John Chrysostom, St. Catherine, and others. In 2000, during a Pontifical visit of the Catholicos of All Armenians to the Armenian Diocese of New Nakhichevan and Russia, the Hermitage returned the relics of the 18 saints to the Armenian Church, and they were placed in a duplicate reliquary that had been specially made.

5. The Right Hand of St. Stephen the Proto-Deacon and First Martyr of the Church

The silver Right Hand reliquary, from the XVII-XVIII centuries, contains the relic of St. Stephen the Proto-Deacon, the first Christian martyr.

6. The Right Hand of the Virgin St. Hripsime

The silver gilded Right Hand reliquary contains the relic of the virgin St. Hripsime. The relic dates back to the XVII-XVIII centuries.

7. The Right Hand of the Apostle Ananias

The Seventeenth century silver gilded Right Hand reliquary contains the relics of the Apostle Anania, one of the 72 disciples of Jesus Christ.

8. The Right Hand of Catholicos St. Sahak I Parthev

The XVII-XVIII centuries Right Hand reliquary contains the relic of the 10th Catholicos of All Armenians, St. Sahak I Parthev (387-428). The Right Hand of Catholicos Sahak Parthev was brought to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin from Western Armenia, Anapat Armenian Мonastery, Lim Island, Lake Van , Turkey.

9. The Right Hand of St. Sarkis the Warrior

The Right Hand reliquary was commissioned in 2008 by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The silversmith is Mamikon Mkhitaryan. The reliquary contains the relics of St. Sarkis the Warrior, which were discovered during excavations of the St. Sarkis Monastery in Ushi, in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia.

10. The Right Hand of St. Gevork the Warrior

The reliquary contains the relics of St. Gevork the Warrior. The Right Hand reliquary was made in Kolkata, India in 1928, and is silver gilded.

11. Cross-reliquary of St. Thaddeus and St. Virgin Sandukht

The eighteenth century made cross-reliquary contains the relics of the Apostle St. Thaddeus, one of the Armenian first illuminators, and the relic of the first Armenian Martyr St. Sandukht the Princess.

12. Cross-reliquary of St. John the Baptist

The cross-reliquary, created in Cilician Armenia in the fourteenth century, contains the relics of St. John the Baptist.

13. St. Gregory of Narek and other Saints

Made in the nineteenth century, the octagon star-shaped reliquary contains the relics of St. Gregory of Narek and the relics of other Pan-Christian Saints. The relic was presented to the Catholicos of All Armenian in 2012 and given to the Armenian Church.

14. The Gospel of Zeytun

The Gospel of Zeytun was written in Hromkla in 1256 by Toros Roslin, the most prominent Armenian manuscript illuminator in the High Middle Ages. It is one of numerous treasures kept in the The Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenaderan). The manuscript was commisioned and received by the 69th Catholicos of All Armenians, Constantine I of Bartzrapert (1221-1267). The Holy Gospel was donated to the Matenadaran by the Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I.

The rite of canonization concluded at 19:15, (7:15 pm local time - Yerevan), a time specifically chosen to symbolize the year of the Armenian Genocide. At the conclusion of the historic canonization rite, church bells also tolled in cities around the world including New York, Moscow, Strasbourg, Madrid, Venice, Berlin and the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

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