In the early morning of April 24, 2012, related to the 97th Anniversary commemoration, His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Primate, Rev. Fr. Vazgen Boyajyan, Pastor of St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Cathedral of Montreal, and Rev. Fr. Komitas Mirzakhanyan, pastor of Holy Cross Armenian Church of Laval with a range of Armenians went to Armenian Embassy of Ottawa, where a reception was held, hosted by Armen Yeganyan, Armenia’s Ambassador to Canada, in Ottawa.. During their meeting they exchanged ideas with each other, after which a memorial requiem service took place in the memory for the victims of Armenian genocide; in the meantime they located memorial wreaths in the presence of the pastors of all the Armenian Churches, and the representatives of the Armenian organizations of Montreal.
Henceforth, in the evening at 7:00 pm a Holy Mass was held in Sourp Hagop Armenian Church of Montreal. The celebrant was His Grace Archbishop Souren Kataroyan. Before the Lord’s Prayer (Hayr Mer), His Grace Archbishop Khajag Hagopian encouraged all the Armenian Churches that every year together celebrates the commemoration ceremonies for the victims of Armenian Genocide. His Grace invited the Primate of all Armenians in Canada, His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan to transfer his massage. His Eminence realized in his massage about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, saying that “it is the reflection of our real victory, through which today we are the inheritors of that big victory, which keeps alive its existence in all of us”.
After the Mass, a requiem service was held nearby the Cross Stone (khatchkar), located in the yard of Sourp Hagop Church, where the pastors and the parishioners offered their prayers for the rest of the souls for 1.5 million victims of Armenian Genocide.
