WCC: As Armenian Heritage Conference opens, “we are not here to be bystanders”

An Armenian Heritage Conference opened in Bern, Switzerland, on 27 May to address the consequences of the conflict in Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh with regard to the protection of Armenian religious and cultural heritage, the human rights of its people, and the future security of the Armenian nation.

During an opening prayer and remarks, Rev. Rita Famos, president of the Protestant Church in Switzerland, offered a welcome to Bern, the headquarters of the church, and reflected on its longstanding work for peace, particularly in Armenia/Nagorno Karabakh.

Setting the tone for the opening session, she prayed: “Let us seek truth so that this conference bears good fruit and we can, according to our conscience, do what we must do.”

The conference aims to turn discussion into action. “All participants and speakers at this conference are called upon to consider what they can contribute,” she said. 

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, reflected and lamented the destruction of Armenian churches and sacred sites, in Nagorno Karabakh and other locations.

“We are called to seek ways to prevent the further appropriation and destruction of sacred sites,” he said. “We are witnessing condemnable violation of religious freedom and fundamental human rights.”

For full coverage of the opening of the Armenian Heritage conference, click here.