On April 18, 2015 an event dedicated to the Armenian Genocide was held in Tbilisi St. Peter and St. Paul’s Cathedral of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia. It was the third “sister” church holding an event in memory of the Genocide victims after Roman Catholic and Evangelical Baptist Churches. The Hayartun Center organized an exhibition in the church courtyard on Mets Eghern (The Great Crime).

The joint prayer was attended by the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, the clergy, diplomat from the RA Embassy in Georgia, Karen Melikyan, “Vrastan” newspaper editor, Van Baiburtyan, intelligentsia representatives and parishioners from the Armenian and “sister” churches.

The commemorative evening began with the Lord’s Prayer. The leader of the Evangelical Lutheran church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen welcomed the congregation present and read a sermon on the sacrament of the day and condemned mass atrocities committed against children, women and elder people. Both leaders of the churches delivered a commemorative service together and prayed for the souls of the Genocide victims committed by the Ottoman Empire in Western Armenia.

Following the prayer the Chairman of the Union of Armenian Intellectuals of Georgia, Enok Tadevosyan and poetess Marina Movsesova-Kirakosyan delivered a speech.

At the end of the evening the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan expressed appreciation to the leader of the Evangelical Lutheran church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen and the congregation present for sharing the Armenians’ grief. He also thanked the clergy in Germany for the prayer to be conducted in the Mother Cathedral on April 23^rd.