DUBLIN, Ireland (ACNS) – A Khachker – a traditional
Armenian cross made from volcanic stone – has been erected in the grounds of
Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin in a service attended by Christian leaders
from across the denominations in Ireland as a memorial to the estimated 1.5
million Armenian Christians who were systematically and brutally murdered by
the Ottoman regime in the “Medz Yeghern” – the Great Crime – which took place
100 years ago, beginning in April 1915.
The Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev. Dr.
Michael Jackson, was joined by the Roman Catholic Archbishop, the Most Rev.
Diarmuid Martin, the President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Rev.
Brian Anderson and representatives of other denominations for a service on
Saturday at which the stone cross was dedicated by Bishop Hovakin Manukyan, the
Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of UK and Ireland,
“Christ Church Cathedral lies at the spiritual heart of
Dublin. It is the mother church of the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough,” the
Very Rev. Dermot Dunne, Dean of the Cathedral, said. “The Armenian Church and
community are very close to the dioceses and it felt fitting that the Khachkar
should be located here both as a memorial to the victims of the genocide and as
a visible sign of the link between our two Churches”.
“The dedication of the Armenian Cross-Stone in the
capital of the Republic of Ireland on the occasion of the centennial of the
genocide is an expression of the long lasting connection between our church
communities,” Bishop Manukyan said. “The Cross-Stone will remain here as a
reminder of our friendship and our commitment to peace as well as a memory to
those who suffered in genocide and in war.”
In a sermon, Archbishop Michael Jackson spoke of the
“route towards expression and recognition of the Armenian Genocide” that the
Armenian people had taken over the past 100
“It has brought us today to the point of articulation and
expression of immeasurable national suffering and incalculable individual
nobility around a long journey involving children, women and men who are the
faces and the voices of the Armenian Genocide,” Archbishop Jackson said. “Once
the long journey of killing, grieving, rejection and enforced emigration began
– every step of the route became precious, every wind in the road became
unforgettable and every life lost became irreplaceable.”
The Khachkar is a significant part of the Armenian
Christian identity. The Khachkar which now stands in the grounds of the
cathedral was designed by Aram Hakhumvan, who lives in Ireland and carved in
Armenia by Arta Hambardzumvan.
It features a Celtic Cross with an Armenian Cross
standing out of it and the rest of the stone has many Irish and Armenian
details including shamrocks and grapes. It is the 167th memorial to the
Armenian Genocide located in 52 countries around the world.
Bishop Hovakin Manukyan and Archbishop Michael Jackson
during the dedication of the Khachkar
(Photo Cerdit Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough)
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