Catholicos Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, today visited the Sardarapat Memorial to mark Republic Day.

The memorial is built at the site of the May 1918 battle between Armenian regular military and militia units and the Ottoman army that had invaded eastern Armenia. The Armenian forces not only halted the Ottoman advance but laid the foundation for the establishment of a newly independent Armenia.

Catholicos Karekein II laid a wreath at the memorial to honor those who died in the weeklong battle and offered a prayer for the repose of the souls of the defenders of the homeland,"