- Feb 5, 2002
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In September, the Islamic nation of Azerbaijan invaded its neighbor Armenia.
Living in the constant motion of a 24/7 news cycle inevitably pushes certain headlines off the front page. In recent months, that has been the plight of tens of thousands of Armenia refugees flung out of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In September, neighboring Azerbaijan, an Islamic nation, invaded Armenia and blockaded what Armenians call Artsakh. The region has been a locus of ongoing conflict since the fall of the Soviet Union, but events took a significant turn with the 2023 Azerbaijan offensive.
The result was a massive upheaval for those who call Artsakh home. Since then, fleeing Armenians — the vast majority of whom are Christian — have endured the constant threat of danger and the deprivation that followed.
American diplomat Sam Brownback, a Catholic, called the invasion and offensive a “religious cleansing” against Armenian Christians.
About 90% of the Armenian population as a whole is Christian, according to the U.S. State Department, most of whom are Orthodox, and fewer than 10% Catholic. Armenians proudly call their homeland “the first Christian nation,” referring to King Tiridates III proclaiming Christianity the official religion of the Kingdom of Armenia at the beginning of the fourth century. The Armenian Apostolic Church’s Etchmiadzin Cathedral is frequently cited as the oldest Christian church in the world. Pope Francis visited the historic site in 2016.
When Pope St. John Paul II traveled to Armenia in September 2001 to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia, he said, “A striking feature of this land are the many crosses in the form of the khachkar, testifying to your steadfast fidelity to the Christian faith.” A khachkar is a specifically Armenian artistic representation of the cross, typically as a free-standing stone monument.
Azerbaijan has routinely led pogroms of destruction against the khachkar over the decades.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
Living in the constant motion of a 24/7 news cycle inevitably pushes certain headlines off the front page. In recent months, that has been the plight of tens of thousands of Armenia refugees flung out of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In September, neighboring Azerbaijan, an Islamic nation, invaded Armenia and blockaded what Armenians call Artsakh. The region has been a locus of ongoing conflict since the fall of the Soviet Union, but events took a significant turn with the 2023 Azerbaijan offensive.
The result was a massive upheaval for those who call Artsakh home. Since then, fleeing Armenians — the vast majority of whom are Christian — have endured the constant threat of danger and the deprivation that followed.
American diplomat Sam Brownback, a Catholic, called the invasion and offensive a “religious cleansing” against Armenian Christians.
About 90% of the Armenian population as a whole is Christian, according to the U.S. State Department, most of whom are Orthodox, and fewer than 10% Catholic. Armenians proudly call their homeland “the first Christian nation,” referring to King Tiridates III proclaiming Christianity the official religion of the Kingdom of Armenia at the beginning of the fourth century. The Armenian Apostolic Church’s Etchmiadzin Cathedral is frequently cited as the oldest Christian church in the world. Pope Francis visited the historic site in 2016.
When Pope St. John Paul II traveled to Armenia in September 2001 to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia, he said, “A striking feature of this land are the many crosses in the form of the khachkar, testifying to your steadfast fidelity to the Christian faith.” A khachkar is a specifically Armenian artistic representation of the cross, typically as a free-standing stone monument.
Azerbaijan has routinely led pogroms of destruction against the khachkar over the decades.
Continued below.
Don’t Forget the Armenia Refugees of Artsakh
In September, the Islamic nation of Azerbaijan invaded its neighbor Armenia.
