Freedom of Religion and the Preservation of Armenian Religious, Cultural, and Historical Heritage in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh

The publication is one of the outcomes of the Armenian Heritage Conference, held in Bern, Switzerland, 27–28 May 2025. The conference was organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with the Protestant Church in Switzerland, following a request from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. It responded to the forced displacement of the Armenian population from Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh and the grave threats facing Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the region.

It compiles conference papers, expert analyses, and reflections, situating the Armenian experience within a wider global context. It is intended as a resource for churches, policymakers, academic institutions, and civil society actors engaged in protecting cultural and religious heritage, defending human rights, and advancing reconciliation and sustainable peace.

Introduction — Ani Ghazaryan Drissi, Martin Ernst Hirzel, Carla Khijoyan

Opening Addresses

1.1 Speech by Rev. Rita Famos, the President of the Protestant Church in Switzerland

1.2 Address by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians

1.3 Address by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church

1.4 Speech by Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches

Historical and Political Perspectives

2.1 The Establishment of Post-Soviet Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh — Hans-Lukas Kieser

2.2 Advancing Human Rights and Protecting Cultural Rights of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples — Michael Rubin

2.3 Thoughts on the Church of Albania: Facts and Fake — Jasmine Dum-Tragut

2.4 History as a Witness to the Truth: What our Fellowship Demands — Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York

Interfaith Perspectives

3.1 The Interfaith and Multilateral Perspective in Times of Genocide — Azza Karam

3.2 Planting Together: A Rabbinic View of Faith, Pluralism, and the Carob Tree — Rabbi Alexander Goldberg

3.3 Freedom of Religion: The Preservation of the Yazidi Religious, Cultural, and Historical Heritage — Faris Keti

International Law and Testimonies

4.1 Using AI to Protect Armenians — Luis Moreno Ocampo

4.2 From Genocide to Erasure: The Continuum of Cultural Destruction in Armenian History — Garo Paylan

4.3 Voices of Artsakh: Living Testimonies — David Ghahramanyan

4.4 Humanitarian Needs, Response by HEKS/EPER and the Call for Christian Solidarity — Karolina Frischkopf

International Responsibility

5.1 The Role of UNESCO in the Protection of Armenian Heritage in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh — Peter Prove

5.2 Addressing Accountability for Ethno-Cultural Cleansing in the Context of Past and Ongoing Conflicts — Adama Dieng

5.3 Addressing Failed Legal Frameworks to Save Churches, Protect Freedom of Religion, and Confront Genocide in a New 21st Century: Doing Better to Do Good — Van Z. Krikorian

Sharing from the Past

6.1 Lessons from the Armenian Genocide: Early Republic and Confiscated Armenian Properties — Taner Akcam

6.2 What Remains of the Christian and National Identities of Occupied Territories (Greece) — Metropolitan Gabriel of New Ionia, Philadelphia, Heraklion, and Chalcedon

6.3 A Call for Cultural Justice and Human Dignity (Cyprus) — Tasoula Hadjitofi

Final Statement

7.1 Final Statement of the International Conference on the Preservation of Armenian Religious, Cultural and Historical Heritage in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh

Envisioning the Future

8.1 A Call to Restoration, Responsibility, and Global Heritage Protection — Archbishop Vicken Aykazian

Appendixes

Appendix 1: Conference Programme Book with Biographies

Appendix 2: Expanded Bibliography to Chapter 3.2

Appendix 3: Photo Credits

• Edited by Ani Ghazaryan Drissi
• Edited by Martin Ernst Hirzel
• Edited by Carla Khijoyan