Russian Church representatives attend commemorative events marking 111th anniversary of Armenian genocide

DECR Communication Service, 24/04/2026

On 24^th April 2026, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Advisor to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’, and Priest Iliya Kashitsyn, Secretary for Interfaith Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, attended commemorative events marking the 111th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. The events took place at the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Moscow.

The event was organized to commemorate more than one and a half million Armenians killed in ethnic cleansing in the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century. In 2015, the Armenian Apostolic Church glorified the genocide victims as saints.

Archbishop Yezras Nersissian, Primate of the Diocese of Russia and New Nakhichevan of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in con-celebration with the diocesan clergy, performed the rite of glorification of the Armenian new martyrs. After that, a message of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, was read out. It said, in particular: “Today, in Armenia and across diaspora communities worldwide, we commemorate the holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, who attained immortality by preserving in their souls an unextinguished love for Christ and for the Homeland.”

Mr Igor Shchegolev, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Central Federal District, read out a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin. It read, in particular: “The persecution and repression of those years became an unhealed wound for many generations of Armenians. Yet the tragedy they endured united people, who showed their firm commitment to traditions, wisdom and fortitude. It is my belief that the sons and daughters of Armenia will continue to cherish their national identity, thousands-year-old culture, language, freedom and spiritual values.”

Numerous guests who attended the commemorative ceremony, including clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church and other confessions, representatives of the Presidential Executive Office and the Government of Moscow, foreign diplomats and public figures, laid flowers at the memorial to the genocide victims.

On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov expressed solidarity of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Armenian Apostolic Church in sorrowful commemoration of the events of the past associated with the criminal genocide. Father Nikolai also emphasized the Armenian Apostolic Church’s incomparable role in the life of the Armenian people, assuring them of fraternal support of the Moscow Patriarchate in the current ordeals.

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Russian Church representatives attend commemorative events marking 111th anniversary of Armenian genocide

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons