Azat Posted April 24, 2001 Report Share Posted April 24, 2001 Vatican OKs Armenian Martyr VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican (news - web sites) on Tuesday proclaimed as martyrs an Armenian bishop killed in 1915 and 26 Ukrainians who died in Communist persecutions after World War II. The announcement was the first step toward beatification and possible sainthood. In the case of Bishop Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, archbishop of the Armenian church in Mardin, Turkey, the recognition came on the same day Armenians commemorate the deaths of 1.5 million of their countrymen in what they say was part of the Ottoman Empire's campaign to force them out of eastern Turkey. Turkey says the death toll is inflated and that Armenians were killed or displaced as the empire tried to quell unrest. The Vatican's citation said the Armenian church was at that time ``devastated by a violent persecution that took numerous victims'' among clergy and faithful. It said the choice of date for the announcement was a coincidence. The Ukrainians - eight bishops, 14 priests, three nuns and a layman - were martyred during anti-church campaigns by Ukraine's former communist rulers, the Vatican said. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010424/w..._martyrs_1.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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