April 24, 2005 - 10:40 AMT
1.5 MILLION CANDLES TO BE LIT IN MOSCOW IN MEMORY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
A rally to commemorate victims of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey started in Moscow next to an Armenian temple under construction Sunday morning, reported Interfax. Some 1 thousand people gathered at the beginning of the ceremony and their number kept growing as endless chained arrived in spite of the cold weather. All those arriving light candles. In the words of the organizers, within the day 1.5 million candles will be lit here reflecting the number of victims of the tragedy. The rally participants will pray for their compatriots, who tragically died (the office for the dead will be served by bishop of the New Nakhichevan and Russian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Ezras Nersisian). Armenian Ambassador to Armenia, Russian Ambassador to Armenia, President of the Union of Armenians of Russia and other well-known representatives of the Armenian Diaspora are expected to be present at the event.