“We are convinced that this global prayer organized by the World Council of Churches will encourage the participation of Christian communities, diplomatic missions, media representatives and all relevant international organizations,” said HH Catholic Karekin II. “We sincerely hope that this spiritual effort will raise global awareness of the current humanitarian crisis and promote a peaceful solution based on truth and justice.”
Responding to this call, the World Council of Churches (WCC) invites all people of good will to join the day of prayer for Armenia – for peace, for support for refugees and for the release of war hostages – next November 10, the eve of the start of the COP29 climate negotiations in Azerbaijan.
The military aggression against the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh Republic in September-October 2020, followed by the ten-month total blockade of the Lachin corridor and the forced displacement of some 120,000 Armenians from their ancestral lands in September 2023, remains cause for great concern.
COP29 represents a unique opportunity to advocate for the unconditional release of the twenty-three Armenian hostages, as well as Azeri journalists and political prisoners detained in Azeri prisons.
WCC moderator Bishop Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm opined that Armenia needs our prayers. “The Christian faith has accompanied the Armenian people since the beginning of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the year 301 AD. C.”, he said. “The future is uncertain.”
Bedford-Strohm affirmed that God will accompany the Armenian people, and we can join God by accompanying them with our prayers. “Our prayers will reach the hearts and souls of Armenians and strengthen them,” he said.
WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay invited all churches to join the call to prayer, and also urged continued support from the international community.
“We continue to stand in solidarity with and pray for the Armenian Apostolic Church and ecumenical partners in Armenia,” he said. “We reiterate our call for a just and sustainable peace that fully respects international humanitarian law and international human rights standards.”
The WCC will organize a local prayer service at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Geneva on 10 November at 5pm (CET) in collaboration with the Armenian community.
merciful God,
We bring before you today the people of Armenia.
We praise you for all the gifts with which you have blessed them: the strength of their faith, the beauty of their churches, the inspiration of their liturgies, the extraordinary talents expressed in their art and their culture, the resilience with which they have overcome the challenges of its history.
We bring before you what darkens their lives these days: the tears of those who have lost their loved ones to military aggression, the uncertainty of those who had to flee their homes and now fear for their future, the destruction in war of holy churches of great value.
You are the light of the world. Send your light into the hearts of all the afflicted and inspire them again and again with your spirit of faith, love and hope.
Prayer service for peace in Armenia at St. Peter’s Cathedral (in English)