The Catholicosate Of Cilicia Participates In The Annual Conference Of Secretaries Of Christian World Communions
The Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions held its yearly meeting from October 30th to November 3rd, 2023. After last year’s meeting in Vancouver, the Conference met in The Ecumenical Institute of Bossey and the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.
The Ecumenical officers and secretaries of each respective church family and communion shared their reports and updates. Members detailed their ecclesial and ecumenical initiatives and challenges, as well as ongoing and future endeavors. On behalf of the Catholicosate of Cilicia and His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, V. Rev. Fr. Hrant Tahanian participates in the conference.
Our Church’s report this year digressed from the traditional format, focusing extensively on discussing the ethnic cleansing that recently occurred in Nagorno-Karabagh/Artsakh. Fr Hrant lamented the lack of proper coverage and outrage this first genocide of the 21st century received. He stressed that although there were verbal condemnations, no actions were taken by the relevant international bodies at the sight of continued flagrant violations of the human rights our current world order is based on.
He stressed that the pretext of “fatigue” brought about from other wars has proven unjustifiable. Artskah was ethnically cleansed from all its indigenous Armenian population by October 3rd. Just a few days later a new war erupted in the Holy Lands and fatigue seems to have abated, receiving beyond extensive coverage. He further decried that that are yet conflicts and human rights violations that receive no coverage at all, like many in the continent of Africa, as well as specifically on the 12th year of war in Syria, and the 4th year of subsequent heavy-handed crises in Lebanon. As all people of good will profess, only in solidarity with all peoples suffering under such violations can humanity find peace, and the struggle to establish a just world triumph.
The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, who also participates in the Conference, expressed the full solidarity of the WCC with the people and just cause of Artsakh. He was in Armenia on the day the final stage of this Genocide commenced, and streamed his address live with the bombardment occurring in the background. This evidence to the crimes was picked up by some international news agencies and provided coverage on the exposed agenda to ethnically cleanse the region…
This news was originally published on the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, Antelias, Lebanon website, click here to read more.