On June 30, the Cilicia Museum of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia hosted a lecture devoted to the current state of the study on the Armenian Genocide and the challenges that have been faced.  At the invitation of the Information Unit of the Catholicosate, the lecturer was Head of the Chair of the Armenian Genocide at Clark University Taner Akcam, as posted on the official website of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, reports Hayern Aysor. The event was moderated by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos and was attended by congregates, intellectuals, as well as teachers, students and those interested in history and the Armenian Genocide.

The event began with opening remarks by Father Supreme Archimandrite Sipan Kechejian, who briefly presented the life and career of Akcam.

Taner Akcam’s lecture was focused on the study of the Armenian Genocide. Akcam talked about major Turkish, Armenian and other intellectuals who have made their contributions to the study on the motives, period and different factors of the Armenian Genocide.

During the lecture, the Turkish historian cited documents from Ottoman archives and reaffirmed his position that the Armenian Genocide was a planned and well-organized crime that the Turkish authorities perpetrated at the appropriate time during the First World War.

Akcam expressed concern with the declining number of Armenian Genocide experts and called on young students to study the history and particularly the issue of the Armenian Genocide.

At the end, Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia praised Akcam’s efforts to study the materials devoted to the Armenian Genocide and viewed Akcam as an impartial historian.

He also emphasized that Akcam had helped the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia file a lawsuit for the return of the Catholicosate of Sis. The Supreme Patriarch called on young Armenian students to dedicate themselves to genocide studies. He expressed willingness to help all youth who wish to become Armenian Genocide experts.