The Armenian Church on Thursday conferred sainthood on some 1.5 million Armenians killed by Ottoman forces a century ago, as tensions raged over Turkey's refusal to recognise the killings as genocide. The ceremony, which is believed to be the biggest canonisation service in history, came ahead of commemorations expected to see millions of people including heads of state on Friday mark 100 years since the start of the killings.
The two-hour ceremony outside Armenia's main cathedral, Echmiadzin, close to the capital Yerevan, ended at 7:15 pm local time, or 19:15 according to the 24-hour clock (1515 GMT), to symbolise the year when the massacres started during World War I.
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