The Australasian-Middle East Christian Apostolic Churches Conference of Bishops. (AMEC)
The Current Conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
2 October 2020
The geographical and political complexities of the region generally designated as the Caucasus have become increasingly accentuated in the long-running dispute centred on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The present disturbances and military activity in the region have impacted upon large numbers of Christians.
As Bishops and representatives of the Australasian-Middle Eastern Christian Apostolic Churches (AMEC), it is incumbent upon us to express our concern at a situation which has the potential to develop into an international crisis. We fear that the especially vulnerable – women and children, the elderly and the infirm – will be caught up in a conflict not of their making.
Furthermore, it cannot be denied that the Armenian People have long suffered major disruptions to their communal life. In particular, it must be remembered that the Armenian Nation was subjected to a deliberate, relentless, and merciless assault resulting in what is properly referred to as a genocide. That the successor state to the Ottoman Empire continues to deny the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide surely raises concerns for the safety of Armenian Communities in the disputed territory.
We urge that all involved in the present dispute abide by pertinent international treaties and conventions. Above all, the territorial integrity of the Armenian majority community must be accepted and respected. Already there has been loss of life and collateral damage to property. The situation must not be allowed to escalate.
As representatives of Christian Communities, we abhor injustice and violence, and we call upon all those who determine the affairs of nations to move swiftly and definitively to restore order and to ensure continued peace.
With unshakable confidence in the loving kindness of the Good Lord, we commend to Him all those who have died in the present disturbances, and we implore a speedy and complete recovery for those who have been injured. May those who have been bereaved find in Him, an enduring consolation.
We also invite all our Faithful, to pray unceasingly that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, will bestow His everlasting peace upon all humanity, especially nowadays upon in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
With thanks to the Australasian-Middle East Christian Apostolic Churches Conference (AMEC).
