On Tuesday, April 22, 2015, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon and the delegation of the Orthodox Church in America participated in the “Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide,” which brought together scholars, government/NGO officials and Church leaders to consider how ways to address and prevent genocide. The forum opened with a presentation by the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargasyan, and a panel that included Patriarch Catholicos Karekin II. The Church delegations had a separate session as well, and a number of Church leaders—including Metropolitan Tikhon—gave brief messages. Delegates then toured the Genocide Memorial and Museum in Yerevan, which features historical documents, photos and films of the heartbreaking history of the Genocide and its aftermath. The plight of hundreds of thousands of children whose parents were massacred was especially disturbing, with ripple effects that continue to be felt across the generations. With this experience freshly in mind, it was all the more powerful to witness in the evening a concert by children at the Cathedral complex in Etchmiadzin. To see and hear the gifted and passionate young musicians was truly a demonstration of resurrection in the Armenian Church and nation. The day ended with the celebration of Vigil in the crowded cathedral for the Glorification of the New Armenian Martyrs.
