A Resumption of Canonization after Centuries-Long Hiatus

Abstract On April 23, 2015, a long-expected canonization ceremony was held at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Armenia. This ceremony marked the collective canonization of the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide on the open-air altar of St. Trdat III the Great. A specially revived formula was used, not mentioning any number of martyrs. The ceremony included the Lord’s Prayer, a procession, scriptural readings, and testimonies of martyrdom. April 24 was set as the Commemoration Day. The article traces the 100-year journey from 1915 to 2015, exploring the relationship between historical memory, theological reflection, and martyrdom in Armenian consciousness. The revived model revisits the framework of how canonizations could have taken place with a dynamic connection between ecclesiastical authority and community in the holistic Christian model. The martyrs of the Armenian Genocide are one specific cluster of neo-martyrdom in Christian theology, and the present research stresses this aspect as well.