On April 24, 2011, in Kolkata, India, about 3000 people prayed and paid their respect to the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Every year, on Easter Day, Christians in Kolkata gather in the premises of the historic St. Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The religious and cultural program concluded with the religious message by the Catholic Archbishop of Kolkata. This year, out of respect to the Armenian Genocide victims, Father Khoren Hovhannisyan, Pastor of Armenians in India and Manager of Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy was invited to pray and deliver his message on this occasion.

The master of ceremonies, Reverend Father Andrew Simick, before inviting the Pastor of Armenians in India to stage, announced that this year Easter coincided with the 96th anniversary of Armenian Genocide and asked the congregation to pray for one and a half million victims of the Genocide.

Father Khoren Hovhannisyan prayed for Genocide victims in Armenian and addressed the congregation, saying: “Every year, on April 24, Armenians all over the world commemorate the attempt to exterminate their nation by the Ottoman Turks, the murder of 1.5 million innocent and defenseless children, women, elderly people and men.

The wound left behind from the Armenian Genocide is yet to heal … the wound is still bleeding because of Turkish denial … The whole nation was nailed on the cross because they were Christians, because they were Armenians.”