HEAD OF ARMENIAN CHURCH TO VISIT ISTANBUL
AP Worldstream
Jun 20, 2006
The head of the Armenian Orthodox Church is to begin a weeklong visit
to the Armenian community of Istanbul on Tuesday, where he will also
meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
Karekin II, whose official title is Catholicos of All Armenians, has
issued statements saying Turks committed genocide against Armenians
around the time of World War I. Turkish nationalist protests during
his visit are likely.
Turkey has no relations with Armenia, and vehemently denies that Turks
committed genocide, saying Armenians who lived under the Ottoman
Empire were killed in internal fighting among ethnic groups as the
empire collapsed.
Armenia prides itself on being the first nation in the world to
officially adopt Christianity, while Turkey is 99 percent Muslim.