Don’t forget about Armenia

An injustice against an historic Christian group remains unresolved

A group photo of participants at the Armenian Heritage Conference held by the World Council of Churches at Bern, Switzerland on May 27-28.

We’re hearing a lot about Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran these days, but very little about Armenia and Azerbaijan. That’s because one side has lost the war. But as the world pays little attention, priceless treasures of Armenian cultural heritage are being lost too.

Overwhelmingly Christian Armenia and the predominantly Muslim nation of Azerbaijan have been on unfriendly terms ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, when Armenians in disputed territory declared their independence from Azerbaijan and civil war erupted. After three decades of struggle over disputed territory, in September 2023 Azerbaijan mounted a decisive military offensive and forced over 100,000 Armenians to flee from the area they called Artsakh.

Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, happened to be leading a WCC delegation on a previously scheduled visit when the Azerbaijani offensive took place. Azerbaijan had been blocking the one route into Artsakh for nine months, preventing its Armenian residents from receiving food. The WCC delegation was unable to access the region. Instead, they watched helplessly as the defeated Armenians exited their homes as refugees.

As Jayson Casper of Christianity Today described in detail last October, Azerbaijan has been systematically bulldozing historic Christian structures in the abandoned territory.

Pillay promised not to forget about the Armenian victims. Last month, he and the WCC kept their promises by hosting a conference to bring international attention to the Armenians’ plight and the loss of their cultural heritage.

The participants adopted a statement calling for coordinated international action, including a UNESCO monitoring mission, diplomatic efforts by governments and international bodies, a WCC pilgrimage to threatened holy sites, and in-depth media coverage.

Merlyn Hyde-Riley of the Jamaica Baptist Union, who serves as one of the WCC’s vice moderators, shared the following observations with me after the conference.

Much of the mainstream international media have not focused on the [Armenians’] situation at all. This conference provided more in-depth information on what is happening—the destruction of heritage sites and the impact on the Armenians’ sense of integrity and humanity.

This conference went a long way in sensitivity people to the issue. Because of the reach of WCC media, even before the conference took place, news about it had circulated far and wide. We hope this will build momentum in the quest for peace, justice, and ending the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage.

The conference brought together many voices and perspectives. The Protestant Churches in Switzerland organized it along with the WCC and the Orthodox Patriarch of Armenia. We had a Jew, a Muslim (Azza Karam of Egypt, former secretary general of Religions for Peace), and a prosecutor from the International Court of Justice among the presenters.

If we come together, our collective voices can do much more in speaking truth to power prophetically. This is where God’s church can make a difference.