The official recognition of the Pontian Genocide was made in 2019 by the Patriarchate of Alexandria, deciding to hold a memorial service in all the holy temples of its Greek communities for the thousands of Pontic Greeks, systematically killed by the Young Turks in the early 20th century. The decision was taken unanimously by Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and the Hierarchs, in the context of the annual meeting of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate.
The relevant suggestion was made by Metropolitan Ioannis of Zambia, who, having taken a variety of actions to highlight Pontic historical memory in various African forums and organizations, originates from Mouzamana in Trabzon, Pontus.
On Sunday of the Samaritan woman, after the end of the Divine Liturgy in the chapel of the Holy Metropolis (behind closed doors), with tears in his eyes, the Metropolitan prayed before the holy icon of St. George of Mouzamana, which was preserved and carried out of the Black Sea region of Trabzon, along with a photograph of his great-grandfather, a priest from the same region, and officiated at a memorial service for the victims of the Pontian Genocide, ahead of today’s, Tuesday, May 19, commemoration of the 101st anniversary of the genocide.
The Metropolitan, speaking about the sacred memory of the tragic victims of the genocide of the Hellenism of Pontus, said that it can be a lesson, “especially under today’s extremely critical circumstances after the outbreak of the pandemic, because we must and can prevent, in perpetual, similar acts of barbarism, which offend the human life and dignity as a value of man and of humanity as a whole.”
Source: Metropolis of Zambia