Armenian Genocide
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‘The Unnamed Crime’
Back in 2015 the full Assembly of the Uniting Church resolved to ‘affirm the value of recognizing a date on or near the anniversary of the Armenian genocide as a day of observance and commemoration’. Among a number of accompanying resolutions, it also requested that the National Consultant, Christian Unity, Doctrine and Worship to prepare ‘a prayer to be provided for all congregations of the UCA for use on the day’ – and, in consultation with others, provide ‘educational and liturgical resources for congregations to use’.
The date usually set aside for such observance is 24 April.
In a number of ways this initiative taken by the Assembly was highly significant. There is an iconic relevance to the place of the Armenian nation in the unfolding tradition of the Christian faith. It is so especially at a time when the regions of the Middle East and the Caucuses are in such turmoil and many lives continue to be lost.
In 301 (a long time ago now) Armenia became the first Christian nation in the world. The word genocide was not invented until 1943. What we now know as the Armenian Genocide occurred during and immediately after the first world war. Winston Churchill called it the ‘unnamed crime’; Great Britain, France and Russia described at the time as a crime against humanity and civilisation.
The Turkish government of those days oversaw the wholesale killing of able-bodied males and the deportation of women, children, the elderly and the infirm on death marches leading into the Syrian desert. It is estimated that 1.5 million people died and a further 1 million people were displaced.
In our Synod we have an Arminian congregation at Willoughby and a couple of Armenian ministers in service. They are testimony to the resilience and the possibility of new life in diaspora.
Those resolutions of the Assembly have rarely been observed. And yet this initiative – along with one seeking to commend to the state government that it should acknowledge the genocide and encourage the federal government to do so led the Uniting Church to be awarded a Freedom Award bestowed by the Armenian National Committee of Australia.
In order to honour those Assembly resolutions, we are providing you with a prayer and a hymn for the occasion. Your support and solidarity in continuing times of difficulty is appreciated.
Our current observance of the original Armenian Genocide is happening at a time of further ethnic cleansing. Last September 120,000 Armenians were forced to leave their homes in the ancestral lands of Artsakh following ten months of a blockade enforced by neighbouring Azerbaijan. They have become the latest waves of refugees.
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Perth, 12-18 July 2015.
Resolution re Armenian Genocide
15.23.01 Armenian Genocide.
It was resolved to:
a) acknowledge that the Armenian massacres and forced deportations of 1915- 1923 constitute a Genocide;
b) commend the NSW and SA governments in acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and encourage the Federal and other state governments to do the same; and
c). affirm the value of recognising a date on or near the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, as a day of observance and commemoration of the Armenian Genocide and request the National Consultant Christian Unity,
Doctrine and Worship to prepare:
i) a prayer to be provided for all congregations of the UCA for use on the day; and
ii) in consultation with others, educational and that liturgical resources for congregations to use.
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The 2015 Assembly asked for educational resources to be provided.
The following provide an introduction.
Films
Podcasts
Newspaper articles
Films
a) The Promise (Apple TV), Wikipedia page
b) The Golden Chain of Mercy
If you would like to host a showing, please contact: Revd. Dr. Krikor Youmshajekian, varak89@gmail.comIf you would like to support the costs which lay behind this film donate here
The Golden Chain of Mercy is the third in a set of films depicting the Armenian Genocide. Its focus is on the response in two faraway counties – Australia and New Zealand. It is an expression of ‘thank you’ for that assistance. In that process it is also seeking to stimulate what might be called ‘the politics of memory’. What do we remember? What do we choose to observe and recognize?
This concern for memory is a crucial subject for the Uniting Church. At its Assembly in 2015 the UCA committed itself to remember and provide resources for such. It set aside the 24th April – the connection with Anzac day, the next day, is deliberate and itself a function of memory. That is when people from this part of the world began to hear, to see the persecution of peoples who belonged to the first nation on the planet to adopt the Christian faith as its official religion.
The film has been shown several times. The film itself features comments from the Revd. Jane Fry (General Secretary), Revd. Ken Day (St Stephens. Macquarie Street) and the Revd. Dr. William Emilsen.
Jane Fry set the relationship to the Armenian church into the wider ecumenical history of the three denominations that came into union in 1977. Ken Day reflected on the initiative taken by the Revd. John Ferguson (minister of the St. Stephen’s Church in Macquarie Church, 1890-1925). Ken spoke of how Ferguson ‘kept his eyes open and his ears to the ground for needs’. In 1915 Ferguson, a former Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church, launched the Armenian Relief Fund (1915) to which members of the congregation, the Presbyterian Church at large and the city of Sydney contributed.
William Emilsen situated the response to the Armenian Genocide inside the importance of remembering. He would comment on how individuals and congregations would commit themselves to the welfare of Armenian people. He noted how the Victorian Friends of Armenia launched a massive fundraising campaign on ‘Armenia Sunday’ in May 1919: they raised the equivalent of $1 million dollars today over 4 weeks. William paid particular attention to the humanitarian efforts that came out of the Congregational Church. He commented on the Australasian orphanage set up just to the north of Beirut which assisted over 1200 children. He referred to the ‘mercy ship’, Hobson’s Bay, which delivered flour at just the right moment.
What was particularly striking was how William began: he cited Adolf Hitler advising his military staff only days before the invasion of Poland ‘who remembers the massacre of the Armenians?’. The politics of memory and the politics of forgetfulness.
In her capacity as President of the Uniting Church the Revd. Charissa Suli was asked to make a response at Longueville Uniting Church following the showing of the film and questions. She noted that the documentary brough to life ‘a story of extraordinary courage, compassion, and humanity.’ For members of the Uniting Church this film discloses a hidden history, a forgotten memory. The President reflected on how this remarkable film ‘sheds light on a chapter of history where ANZAC soldiers and missionaries from Australia and New Zealand reached across the chasm of suffering during the Armenian Genocide, offering hope and mercy to a devastated people. This is not just a story of the past—it is a testament to the enduring power of faith and compassion to transcend borders, cultures, and circumstances. It reminds us that in the darkest moments, the light of humanity shines brightest through acts of selflessness and love.’
The struggle of the Armenian people continue through to this day. Just over a year ago, more than 150,000 Armenians were forcefully displaced from their homes in the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area long associated with the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. After enduring months of blockade perpetrated by the Azerbaijani dictatorship, limiting access to food and essential medicines, acts of violence committed against the ethnic Armenians of the region and the threat of genocide caused the mass displacement and deportation of these people to the neighbouring Republic of Armenia, leaving behind all they had, including their homes, belongings, lands and livelihoods, with just a few carry bags or a car load.
The President concluded her reflection with the words, ‘May this film not only honour the memory of the past but also serve as a bridge to understanding, unity, and love for generations to come.’
Lest we forget.
A Prayer
The President closed the night of the screening with the following prayer.Heavenly Father, We come before You tonight with hearts full of gratitude
for the stories of mercy, love, and courage shared in The Golden Chain of Mercy.
We thank You for the lives of those who stood as beacons of hope during the Armenian Genocide, for the ANZAC soldiers and missionaries who extended hands of compassion to the suffering, and for all who have carried this legacy forward.
Lord, we ask Your blessing upon the Armenian people, upon the lands of Australia and New Zealand, and upon all nations, that we may learn from this history to build a world where mercy and justice prevail.
May the courage of the past inspire us to stand firm against all forms of hatred and oppression, and may the golden chain of compassion continue to grow through our actions and our lives.
Bless all who worked tirelessly to bring this story to light in film, and may their efforts bear fruit in hearts awakened to love and understanding.
In Your holy name we pray, Amen.
Podcasts
On the Empire podcast series hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand the following two episodes were dedicated to the Armenian Genocide. The third episode on ‘Churchill’s Photographer’ tells the story of Yousuf Karsh who was a child during the Genocide and managed to escape. (These episodes can also be downloaded from the Empire podcast app).Episodes 36 and 37 - The Armenian Genocide: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6tnvbXbxShIJiASQ7K2P4l
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66YtTfAS8Or7svZe3cibnn
Churchill’s Photographer, Karsh: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7wngGrVlPkyUr0gFmSsyNx
Newspaper articles and columns
John Kifner, ‘The Armenian Genocide’, The New York Times: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/timestopics/topics_armeniangenocide.htmlColin Tatz, ‘100 Years On: Australia Still Out of Step on the Armenian Genocide’, The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/100-years-on-australias-still-out-of-step-on-the-armenian-genocide-39792
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One of Australia’s most famous journalists of the First World War is Charles Bean. He covered the Gallipoli story. In December 1915 he reported that ‘the Turks, as we know’, are seeking to ‘wipe out the Armenian nation’. There were more than 50 articles covering what was unfolding in 1915 alone.
Anzac soldiers taken as prisoners of war of the Ottoman Turks were also witnessing these events.
The Armenian events became a major international concern – similar to that to do with Palestine and Gaza today.
It led to the formation of the Armenian Relief Fund.
There were large public gatherings; many of our forebears in our contributing churches were involved.
Churches held ‘Armenian Sundays’ which raised funds and played a part in the sending of a ship of mercy.
The Armenian Genocide provoked Australia into its first organized act of humanitarian outreach overseas.
This campaign is significant too because on many occasions efforts were made to transport Armenian orphans to Australia to save them, challenging the rigidity of the White Australia policy.
Mary and Ernest Bryce were the only activists who connected both the Armenian and Indigenous causes, identifying the destruction of Indigenous Australians as a genocide in the same way the destruction of the Armenian communities was described.
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The Children’s Orphanage
In our times, in 2026, there is a surge of feelings across Australia as people witness the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. Families have been torn apart, children traumatised, injured, orphaned. There has been an upwelling of support for aid agencies trying to bring relief in very difficult circumstances.
A hundred years ago there was another such situation when tens of thousands of Armenians were massacred, driven from their ancient homeland, starved and left desperately clinging to life. Again, Australians and New Zealanders responded with generous support, not least for orphanages to care for hundreds of children who had nowhere to go and no family left to look after them. This story has been all but lost in our consciousness even though the impact of that massacre continues to be felt amongst those families that managed to escape, many of whom made their way to Australia which granted them refuge.
The response to the Armenian Genocide (as it came to be known) was part of a response where churches featured strongly: many were from the three denominations that went into the formation of the Uniting Church. The response to the Armenian crisis has since come to be known as Australia’s first initiative in responding to a humanitarian crisis. It is of historical importance.
One aspect of that response was the setting up and staffing of the Antilyas orphanage in what is now Lebanon, near Beirut. It required an extraordinary effort of consciousness-raising and fund raising. The Near East Relief organisation collected enough money to purchase a former paper mill that had fresh water and was bordered by an orange grove on one side and the Mediterranean Sea on the other. This was the first orphanage sponsored by a specific country. While the directors of the orphanage were a young couple from New Zealand, they were supported by several volunteers from Australia, including Mr and Mrs Ernest Bryce from Sydney and Miss Hilda King and Miss Gordon from Melbourne. These people offered care and security, a home, along with about 40 teachers and vocational leaders and 40 women who, like mothers, looked after the children’s food and clothing. Relief supplies were sent from Australia and New Zealand, much transported free of charge. The lives of very many children were saved by this heartfelt and generous support from Australia and from New Zealand.
This story should be remembered because no massacre, especially one that is still relatively recent, should be forgotten. We understand a bit more about generational trauma these days and the hurt when it is dismissed. But what happened should also be remembered because of the response it engendered when people in Australia realised that it was possible to help and did so. The children who found a home in the Antilyas orphanage, as in other orphanages, were seen and known to be vulnerable neighbours even though far away, and the Christian response was not to turn aside but to offer whatever was possible. It is a story that should be handed on because it reminds us of what happens when we do not look away.
We can continue to bear witness.
See:
https://neareastmuseum.com/2016/04/01/the-australasian-orphanage-at-antilyas/ -
Some very significant roles were played by members of the churches. The role of the churches were diverse – hosting fundraising events, hosting speakers, using their respected position in society. The Congregational and Presbyterian Churches were especially active.
Revd. Loyal Lincoln Wirt (1863-1961)
Loyal Lincoln Wirt was born in the United States and ordained a sa Congregational minister in California in 1890. He made his way to Australia and was appointed to Brown Street Church, Newcastle (1901-1904), Wharf Street, Brisbane (1904-1907) before serving in England and back in the United States. He wrote up his story in The World is My Parish: An Autobiographical Odyssey.Wirt organized international movements for the relief of war orphans and refugees in the Near East. He established branches in Australia and New Zealand as well as in Hawaii, China, Japan and the Philippines. He made his way back to Australia and preached on the situation of the refugees in pulpits in major cities. He believed that the only reason there weer any Christians left in the ‘old Bible lands’ was due to the Armenian Relief Fund. While in Sydney the Lord Mayor appointed a committee to raise funds for children. Wirt noted that 109,000 children were in orphanages.
Wirt was in charge of the first shipload of food and clothing from Australia to the Middle East.
Revd. James Cresswell (1867-1954)
James Edwin Cresswell was born on 2 August 1867 in Adelaide. He worked in a number of businesses before he entered the Congregational ministry in 1910. He was 43 at the time. His first chare was to the Border Downs, based at Keith. From 1912 to 1919 he was minister of College Park Congregational Church and was chairman of the Congregational Union of South Australia in 1917-18. At the request of the London Missionary Society, he spent a period as a missionary on the Cook Islands in 1920. He then returned to South Australia in 1921 to become minister of Highgate Congregational Church.It was during this period of his life that he involved himself with the Armenian relief movement. His years of business and administrative experience proved to be a great asset for the fund. As national secretary, Cresswell was requested by the national relief committee to undertake a tour of inspection and report on the administration of the Australian section of the work among the Armenian refugees.
Cresswell became an eyewitness through his tour. He wrote the following in The Armenian published by the Australasian Relief Fund Committee in May 1923.
The caves are located about a mile from Aleppo- huge caves in which are housed the balance of the refugees from whom there is no room in the houses. The sun was shining brightly, and men, women, and children were enjoying the warmth after the wet cold days they had just endured. But what a sight! They were clad in the veriest of rags gathered apparently from the rubbish heaps of years. The sights within the caves are beyond words. No words seem adequate to describe the misery that must be the portion of these people. On either side of the cave were to be seen families, men, women, and children, sitting on the ground. In some places this was fairly dry, but for the most part it was damp-the air was clammy and cold and in all respects it was most depressing.
Here were women, pale and emaciated, children with swollen abdomens, the result of starvation. Again, one saw little babes pinched and pallid-further on a little one just recently born, one tiny atom among thousands of suffering children to be seen here.
Edith Glanville (11871-1966)
Someone else who had great impact on the relief work that was being offered was Edith Glanville, a Sydney wife and mother. Her story of the genocide begins with the loss of her older son Leigh who was killed on the day the Australian forces landed on the beaches of Gallipoli. She never fully recovered from that loss, but rather than give into grief she concentrated her energy and considerable talents into a wide range of activities.After the First Word War ended Edith Glanville helped set up the Armenian Relief Fund – and later a breakaway group known as the ‘Friends of Armenia’. She travelled extensively through the 1920s and 1930s to Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine, seeing for herself the impact of war and violence. Edith was also instrumental in setting up orphanages for Armenian children in Lebanon and Syria. She and her husband, George, sponsored one of these orphans, by then a young man.
Edith was a Liaison Officer at the League of Nations for the Fifth Commission and Near East Relief Society. She spoke frequently and gave lectures to alert the Australian public (as well as audiences in the United States, Canada, and England) about what had happened and what was still going on.
Edith Granville would indeed come to be known as a welfare worker, a philanthropist, a Justice of the Peace, an activist, a feminist, lecturer and broadcaster.
(An account of Edith Glanville’s role in the Armenian relief can be found in an article by Vicken Babkenian, ‘Edith May Glanville: Champion of the Armenian Relief Fund, 2008 Journal of Ashfield and District Historical Society). https://www.academia.edu/3580937/Edith_May_Glanville_Champion_of_the_Armenian_Relief_Fund
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The 2015 Assembly asked for liturgical resources to be made available for congregations. Below are a number of prayer and hymn suggestions, beginning with:
Armenian Martyrs’ Day Prayer
Our loving and gracious Heavenly Father, for all those who stood firm in their Christian faith in the face of persecution, exile and death.
We praise You, O God.
For all who endured the genocide,
We praise You, O God.
For all those Armenian men, women and children who were deported, driven in death marches, and massacred mercilessly because they refused to deny Christ,
We lift up our cries to You, O God.
For all those who directly or indirectly participated in the murder of this small Christian nation and washed their hands saying, “I am innocent of their blood,”
We lift our cries to You, O God.
For all those who continue to trample on truth, justice and human rights,
We lift our cries to You, O God.
That this nation may not perish bur prosper under Your fatherly care,
We pray to You, O God.
That You may uproot from our hearts every trace of hatred and the spirit of vengeance.
We pray to You, O God.
That those of us who are the descendants of those noble martyrs may have a deep sense of gratitude and a deep sense of responsibility.
We pray to You, O God.
That we may recognize they died for their faith that we might live for it,
We pray to You, O God.
Grant that we may value the freedom and the security we are privileged to enjoy in this beautiful country.
Hear our prayer, O God.
Grant that Your power of resurrection may inspire us to live as a righteous people prepared for every good work,
Hear our prayer, O God.
Grant that we may be a compassionate, forgiving and loving people.
Hear our prayer, O God, and grant us a right spirit. Amen!
Further Prayers
Holy God, it is through of your heart of compassion, shown to us in Jesus
That we are brought to see the pain of others and find the truth, the justice and peace of your way.
At this time, we remember the slaughter of the Armenian people,
Driven from their homes and all that had been safe and good because of who they were by ethnicity and faith.They are our friends and witnesses ‘in Christ’
On the suffering endured, Lord cast your eye:
Hold those whose lives came to such cruel ending In your heart.For their faith, we give you thanks.
May they be held in our memory blessed through time.The passage of time does not forget;
the legacy of hurt and trauma remains.
We bring to you those whose lives are scarred, threatened and held hostage by persecution, by fear and hatred still today, in Armenia, in the Middle East and in many other places: people unknown to us but known to you.
On the suffering endured,
Lord cast your eye:
Hold those held fast in the violent power of others
In your heart.
For their faith that continues, we give you thanks.
Bless them we pray.
The present cannot not forget:
the massacres and loss of life of the past weave their way into later holocausts and present day acts of genocide.We bring to you families that have been torn apart, loved ones lost, whose lands and livelihoods have been taken:
We being to you all those for whom fear for the future threatens to drown out hope and who find themselves innocents and by-standers in no-man’s lands.
We pray for children whose lives are lived to the sound of gunfire and bombs.
We pray for those who live with life-threatening hunger, thirst and disease.
We pray for those who now see happening things that ignite memories they would forget.
In a time of silence We remember the peoples of Armenia, the genocide, and the dispossession of Artsakh.
On the suffering endured,
Lord cast your eye:
Hold those whose lives were so cruelly treated
In your heart.
For their faith, we give you thanks.
Bless them we pray.
And for ourselves, we pray, that we may may not look away from the suffering others and forget what they endured. In Christ and through the Spirit. O God, make your way, your truth, your justice and your peace fill our hearts with the compassion that comes from you and resounds through the echoes of time.
Amen. (FME, 2026).
Prayers from Other Churches:
i) The United Church of Canada:
https://united-church.ca/prayers/prayer-remembrance-armenian-genocide-april-24-1915
ii) Remembrance service, 110th anniversary of the genocide, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
Hymns:
‘Christ be our light’.
‘The strife is o’er, the battle done’.
‘Be still my soul’.