WCC news: Armenian Heritage Conference urges coordinated action: protect "living expression of faith, identity, and memory”

An Armenian Heritage Conference has closed with a statement urging coordinated international action to protect Armenian religious and cultural heritage, the human rights of its people, and the future security of the Armenian nation. The conference was hosted by World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with Protestant Church in Switzerland, in Bern, Switzerland on 27-28 May.  Ivars Kupcis/WCC 28 May 2025 The conference statement outlines a framework of responsibility and response to the 2023 forced displacement of the Armenian population and the ongoing destruction of their sacred heritage.  “The conference is a response to the call of the Armenian Apostolic Church and organised by the World Council of Churches and the Protestant Church in Switzerland, who recognize the inextricable link between cultural heritage, identity, and justice,” reads the statement. “The gathering in Bern represents a collective commitment to truth-telling, memory preservation, and coordinated international action to safeguard humanity’s shared legacy.” The statement acknowledges the the forced displacement of over 120,000 ethnic Armenians from Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh following the September 2023 military assault and blockade. “We bear witness to the erasure of millennia of Armenian Christian presence in the region and to the widespread destruction of churches, cemeteries, monuments, and other sacred and cultural sites, as documented by independent bodies such as Caucasus Heritage Watch, Save Armenian Monuments, and Monument Watch and other cultural actors,” reads the text. “Drawing on the insights of international legal experts and practitioners, we reaffirm that the destruction of cultural heritage constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law and can amount to a crime against humanity, and indicia of genocidal intent.” The statement calls on the international community to ensure accountability and uphold their mandates for the protection of cultural and religious heritage. “We also affirm the right of return of displaced populations to their ancestral lands under conditions of safety, dignity, and non-discrimination,” reads the text. “As churches and religious communities, we believe that protecting heritage is not only about monuments—it is about the living expression of faith, identity, and memory.” Religious leaders from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Yezidi traditions joined voices at the conference to affirm that preserving religious heritage is an expression of their shared humanity and a path toward reconciliation. “We underline the role of interfaith collaboration in healing, rebuilding trust, and promoting the dignity of all people affected by displacement, war, and cultural cleansing,” reads the text, which calls for coordinated international action on many fronts. “Heritage, when protected, can be a source of reconciliation.” The statement expresses gratitude to those who shared testimonies of displacement, courage, and resilience, particularly survivors and representatives of Armenian communities from Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh. “Let this statement serve as a testimony to our shared responsibility and as a living document of solidarity, conscience, and commitment,” concludes the statement. “The heritage of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh belongs not only to Armenians, but to the whole of humanity and it is our collective responsibility to protect it." Final statement of the Armenian Heritage Conference As Armenian Heritage Conference opens, “we are not here to be bystanders” (WCC news release, 27 May 2025) WCC, Swiss Protestant Churches unite in fight for justice in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh (WCC news release, 28 May 2025) Photos from the Armenian Heritage Conference in Bern See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC NEWS: As Armenian Heritage Conference opens, “we are not here to be bystanders”

An Armenian Heritage Conference opened in Bern, Switzerland, on 27 May to address the consequences of the conflict in Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh with regard to the protection of Armenian religious and cultural heritage, the human rights of its people, and the future security of the Armenian nation.  Rev. Rita Famos, president of the Protestant Church in Switzerland, welcomes the participants of the Armenian Heritage conference in Bern. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 27 May 2025 During an opening prayer and remarks, Rev. Rita Famos, president of the Protestant Church in Switzerland, offered a welcome to Bern, the headquarters of the church, and reflected on its longstanding work for peace, particularly in Armenia/Nagorno Karabakh. Setting the tone for the opening session, she prayed: “Let us seek truth so that this conference bears good fruit and we can, according to our conscience, do what we must do.” The conference aims to turn discussion into action. “All participants and speakers at this conference are called upon to consider what they can contribute,” she said.  His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, reflected and lamented the destruction of Armenian churches and sacred sites, in Nagorno Karabakh and other locations. “We are called to seek ways to prevent the further appropriation and destruction of sacred sites,” he said. “We are witnessing condemnable violation of religious freedom and fundamental human rights.” Karekin II also condemned the continued disregard for international calls for preservation. “They have also rejected UNESCO’s initiative to conduct a fact-finding mission to assess the condition of cultural moments in Artsakh.” His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, addressing the conference in Bern. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC He noted that the world has born witness to similar cultural genocides in Iran, Syria, and Afghanistan, where ancient cultural landmarks have been obliterated. “The destruction of cultural heritage must rightly be seen not only a crime against a single nation but a crime against all of humanity,” he said.  His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, via a video greeting, described the situation as a genocide, and urged people to challenge the notion that “might is right.”  He reflected on the heart of the conference: “You are convened not simply to examine the fate of religio-cultural monuments of Artsakh and seek the most effective ways and means to protecting them; you are gathered here because a whole people has been uprooted from its centuries of land.” He urged the international community not to remain silent. “A vibrant faith community has been attacked and a sacred culture belonging not only to Armenians but to all humanity stands today on the brink of total annihilation,” he said. “All these factual realities can be rightly described with one word: genocide.” The Armenians of Artsakh have a right to return to their centuries-old homeland, Aram I urged. “The faith communities and the actors of civil society should speak out boldly in defense of justice and fundamental human rights, and the people of good faith should strongly challenge the prevailing notion that ‘might is right.’ ”  Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), recalled when he led a delegation at the border near the entrance to the Lachin Corridor on 19 September 2023, as shelling by Azerbaijan’s armed forces of Stepanakert began in the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. After witnessing the hostilities, the WCC promised His Holiness Karekin II that the WCC would raise international attention to the issue—and the conference currently underway is one such way to honor that promise.  “Let this moment of moral clarity give birth to action with international organizations and communities,” said Pillay. “As Christians we are called to be witnesses of truth – and that is not passive, that is standing by the victims and naming the evil.” Pillay underscored that, to answer this call is not the act of charity, but our duty as Christians. “This conference is not a symbolic act, but a response to the calling of the church; we are here because we believe that peace cannot exist without justice,” he said. “We are not here by coincidence. We are not here to be bystanders.” Learn more about the Armenian Heritage Conference Speech by Rev. Rita Famos, president of the Protestant Church in Switzerland, at the Armenia Heritage Conference Address of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians at the Armenian Heritage Conference Speech by Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, WCC general secretary at the Armenian Heritage Conference Photos from the Armenian Heritage Conference in Bern See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland