WCC NEWS: Armenia prayer day will be “profound testament to Christian solidarity”

Churches and people across the world are invited to pray for the people of Armenia on 10 November.  Photo: Gloria Koymans/WCC   8 November 2024 H.H. Catholicos Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, urged prayers for hostages, and the pursuit of truth and justice. “Your support for the people of Artsakh, especially those distressed and those unlawfully held in the prisons of Azerbaijan, is a profound testament to Christian solidarity and fellowship,” he said, reflecting on the unspeakable hardships and ethic cleansing the region has face. "Your commitment to join us in prayer renews our hope in our call for justice, peace, and dignity for all and especially for the recognition of the right of our people of Artsakh, and the freedom of our captive sons.” World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator Bishop Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm reflected that Armenia needs our prayers. “There is so much strength in the hearts and the souls of the Armenian people,” he said. The World Council of Churches is inviting all people of good will to join a prayer day for Armenia—for peace, for support for refugees, and the release of war hostages—on 10 November, the day before the opening of the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan.  The military aggression against the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh in September-October 2020, followed by the ten-month-long total blockade of the Lachin corridor and the forced displacement of around 120,000 Armenians from their ancestral lands in September 2023, remains a critical concern. COP29 presents a unique opportunity to advocate for the unconditional release of the 23 Armenian hostages, as well as the Azeri political prisoners and journalists detained in Azeri jails. The WCC will organize a local prayer service in St Pierre Cathedral on 10 November at 5pm CET Geneva in collaboration with the Armenian community.    Prayer service for peace in Armenia, St Pierre Cathedral Video message of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians Video message of WCC moderator, Bishop Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm: A prayer for Armenia Armenian churches urge the world to pray for hostages, and pursue truth and justice (WVV news release, 31 October 2024) 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