Armenian Genocide Memorial Church (Der Zor)
| Armenian Genocide Martyrs' Memorial Church | |
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 Shown within Syria
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Deir ez-Zor, Syria |
| Geographic coordinates | 35°20′20″N 40°08′30″E / 35.3387805°N 40.1417138°ECoordinates: 35°20′20″N 40°08′30″E / 35.3387805°N 40.1417138°E |
| Affiliation | Armenian Apostolic Church |
| Region | Deir ez-Zor |
| Country | Syria |
| Year consecrated | 4 May 1991 |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | ruined |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Sarkis Balmanougian, Garbis Tovmasian |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Armenian |
| Groundbreaking | 1985 |
| Completed | 1990 |
Armenian Genocide Martyrs' Memorial (Armenian: Մեծ Եղեռնի Նահատակաց Յուշահամալիր; Arabic: كنيسة شهداء الأرمن) in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, was a complex dedicated to victims of the Armenian Genocide. The construction of the Martyrs' Memorial started in December 1989 and was completed in November 1990. It was consecrated on 4 May 1991 by Catholicos Karekin II of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia. The memorial complex served as church, museum, monument, archive centre and exhibition. It was under the direct administration of the Armenian Prelacy, Diocese of Aleppo. Every year, on 24 April, tens of thousands of Armenian pilgrims from all over the world visited the Der Zor complex to commemorate the genocide victims, with the presence of their religious leaders.
On 21 September 2014, the memorial complex was blown up, reportedly by members of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Deir ez-Zor was designated as the final destination point of the Armenian refugees who were driven out from their lands into a long march within the Syrian desert. That point of the desert became the witness of the annihilation of the remaining refugees who were forced by the Ottoman Turks to death marches. Those major killing centres in the region came to be known as Deir ez-Zor Camps where, according to different sources, between 150,000 and 400,000 Armenians were killed.
The location of the memorial was a plot of land which had been used as a burial site, concentration and death march camp, killing center and site of execution during the genocide. Later, through the efforts of the Armenian community in Deir ez-Zor, a small chapel dedicated to Saint Hripsime was built in the same place. The new memorial complex replaced this older structure. By the initiative of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Diocese of Aleppo, the ground-blessing ceremony took place on 12 May 1985.
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Wikipedia