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Lost amid the Hamas terror attack on Israel is the ongoing suffering and displacement of the world’s oldest Christian community.
In a report released last week, International Christian Concern (ICC) named the country of Azerbaijan as one of the world’s worst persecutors of Christians. The country’s Turkish-backed authoritarian government is currently working to destroy Armenian Apostolic churches and rid all Christians from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in neighboring Armenia.
While the world remains focused on the Israeli-Hamas War, this assault on Christian civilians has gone largely unnoticed in the media.
William Wolfe wrote for the Freedom Center last month giving much of the background into Armenia’s Christian heritage and its current and historic struggle. The population of the Nagorno-Karabakh region — or, as the locals call it, Artsakh — is 98 percent Armenian Christians. It was once part of the Soviet Union, but when that communist government began to collapse in the late 1980s, Artsakh’s people voted to secede and join Armenia.
This led to a six-year-long war for control of the region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which is predominantly Muslim, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of over 1 million people.
The conflict has continued throughout the last 30 years, and in 2020, Azerbaijan retook control of the Nagorno-Karabakh. Since December 2022, Azerbaijan has engaged in a blockade of the area, cutting off all supplies to those living there, including humanitarian aid. In September, Azerbaijan launched an attack on the area, killing 200 Armenians, including 10 civilians. It is estimated that more than 100,000 Armenians have since been forcibly displaced from the area and are living as refugees or staying with family in Armenia.
Many believe that Azerbaijan’s motivation is to purge the area of all Christians. According to ICC’s report, titled “2023 Persecutors of the Year,” Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has referred to the Armenian people as “barbarians, rats, and vandals.”
He wrote that “The Armenian lobby is our main enemy and we are the main enemy for them.”
Aliyev also stated, “Armenia as a country is of no value. It is actually a colony, an outpost run from abroad, a territory artificially created on ancient Azerbaijani lands.”
In reality, the area has long been the site of historic Christian communities. It was the first country to declare Christianity as its state religion. Now some are warning that Azerbaijan is attempting to erase Armenian Christians and their history from the area. In 2020, the Azerbaijani military destroyed Christian crosses and churches.
In 1915 and extending into the 1920s, the Ottoman Empire engaged in a genocide of Armenian Christians. It conducted deportations, mass executions, and starvation. In the end, at least 1.5 million Armenians were murdered.
It also led to what is known as the Armenian diaspora as Armenians fled around the world looking for safety.
For example, two women now living in Texas are here because their families fled the genocide. Laura Agajanian Grimes’ great-grandfather fled the genocide, and Catherine James’ great-grandfather nearly froze to death when Ottoman Empire soldiers buried him in the snow.
Now they fear a new genocide is coming. The Turkish Ottoman Empire waged war on Armenia for centuries, and Azerbaijan, which is backed by Turkey, is still warring against the Armenian people.
“Armenians are the indigenous people there. They have been living there since the B.C. era, before Azerbaijan was even a country,” Agajanian Grimes said of Artsakh, adding that “The people there also declared their own independence, similar to the United States. But unlike the United States, they didn’t have the power, strength or an ally to help them maintain that independence.”
James noted that “This is not the first rodeo that Armenia has dealt with these types of wars.” She visited Artsakh in 2018 and saw historical sites, some of which had been destroyed by enemies. “These people have done nothing. They’re innocent people. And here come these powerhouse bullies, coming in just to be bullies.”
Agajanian Grimes said that it’s hard to see what is happening to Armenians. “There’s a piece of your heart that’s over there, and it’s breaking for them, and you know your hands are tied, what all you can do for them being here in America.”
All Armenians can do is trust God and pray, she said. “Armenians really just have to lean into trusting God. God has power over this situation more than anything does.”
Few people have experienced what the Armenian people have. Sadly, many have likely never even heard of Armenia nor the genocide carried out against them. With all that is going on now in Israel, Ukraine, and even our own country, it can be easy to ignore what is happening to the Christians from Artsakh.
As Christians we cannot afford to do that. Christians should pray for all people and those who are hurting, but Christians should especially pray for other Christians. The Armenian Christians are people who have been persecuted for thousands of years because of their religious beliefs. Nations bent on control and eliminating Christians have waged war on it. And still, they are not giving up. Americans must pray and advocate for these Christians and pray that they could be allowed to live in their homeland without violence.
The Church must be involved in public discourse and influence. That’s why we write — so our readers can be equipped to understand and pursue righteous change in the world. For more timely, informative, and faith-based content, subscribe to the Standing for Freedom Center newsletter.
