Armenia marks centennial of killing of 1.5 million in the Ottoman Empire

Priests carry an icon to attend a religious service in Echmiadzin, the religious center of the Armenian Church outside the capital Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, April 23, 2015. On Friday, April 24, Armenians will mark the centenary of what historians estimate to be the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide. Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide and says the death toll has been inflated. The Armenian Apostolic Church, the country's dominant religion, held services Thursday to canonize all victims. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) (The Associated Press)

A man places a candle in front of the Brandenburg Gate to build the year 1915 during a demonstration after an ecumenical service remembering the Armenian 'slaughter' at the Berlin Cathedral Church in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, April 23, 2015. On Friday, April 24, Armenians will mark the centenary of what historians estimate to be the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide. Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide and says the death toll has been inflated. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

Armenia's President Serge Sarkisian, left, welcomes French President Francois Hollande at Zvartnots airport outside the capital, Yerevan, Armenia, early Friday, April 24, 2015. World leaders are attending ceremonies Friday commemorating the massacre 100 years ago of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks. The event around the time of the World War I is widely viewed by historians as genocide. Modern Turkey, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, vehemently rejects the charge. (Davit Hakobyan/PAN Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)