Memory of Earthquake Victims Remains Unforgotten

December 7 is the Memorial Day for the victims of the devastating Spitak earthquake in the Republic of Armenia. On this day, the flow of people to all churches of the Armenian Apostolic Church does not cease. People come with bowed heads, sorrowful looks, and heavy hearts. And although the tragedy happened decades ago, it is still remembered with deep pain, the anguish of loss, and an unanswered question: why? People continued to come, lighting candles in remembrance and offering prayers of mercy.

At St. Etchmiadzin church in Avlabar, the Memorial Day was observed under the presidency of His Grace Bishop Kirakos Davtyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, with the Divine Liturgy offered by Rev. Father Kirakos Simonyan.

It was noteworthy that, alongside many Armenians from Tbilisi, the former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Georgian SSR’s Communist Party, Jumber Patiashvili, was also present at the Divine Liturgy. Upon hearing the news of the 1988 earthquake, he was among the very first to witness the devastation caused by the natural disaster and to extend a helping hand to the shocked Armenian people. And although 37 years have passed, Mr. Patiashvili, just as in previous years, again came this year to pay his respects to the victims and to pray that all nations be spared from such tragedies.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, a requiem service was performed under the presidency of the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, His Grace Bishop Kirakos Davtyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, urged the faithful in his sermon never to forget the memory of the innocent victims of the earthquake, and to live with God, with our Church, and with deep love for our nation.

The faithful then gathered at the Diocese’s Hayartun Center to watch “My New Year,” a film by Arusyak Simonyan, who lost her mother during the Spitak earthquake at the age of six. The film was dedicated to the memory of the victims of the 1988 Spitak earthquake. The day filled with the painful memories of a devastating natural disaster also became a call to live with love, faith, and unity.