The U.S. House of Representatives opened on April 21 with a prayer by His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern United States, in which he invoked the memory of the Armenian Genocide and prayed that such barbarity never again be inflicted upon any of God's creatures, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Archbishop Choloyan service as the guest chaplain of the House of Representatives came at the request of New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), a long-time friend and supporter of the Armenian American community. Following the opening prayer, Representative Maloney offered brief remarks of her own, praising the spiritual leadership of Archbishop Choloyan and joining with him in marking the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.