Armenia

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Ruben Vardanyan, a former high-ranking official in the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, was arrested by Azerbaijan authorities on Sept. 27, 2023, as he attempted to flee the region along with over 50,000 other ethnic Armenian refugees.

Former Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian leader arrested as over 50,000 refugees flee region

Sep 27, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Ruben Vardanyan, a former state minister of the Republic of Artsakh, Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, was arrested Sept. 27. Read more

Refugees wait next to a line of vehicles near the border town of Kornidzor, Armenia, arriving from Nagorno-Karabakh, on Sept. 26, 2023.

Explosion kills 68 Armenian refugees as thousands flee Nagorno-Karabakh

Sep 26, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

The explosion occurred just off a highway leading away from Stepanakert, where tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians have taken... Read more

A girl sleeps in a street in the town of Stepanakert on Sept. 25, 2023. Ethnic Armenian refugees began to leave Nagorno-Karabakh on Sept. 24, 2023, for the first time since Azerbaijan launched an offensive designed to seize control of the breakaway territory and perhaps end a three-decade-old conflict.

Thousands of Armenian Christians flee homes: ‘Mass exodus has begun,’ expert says

Sep 25, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

According to the government of Armenia, 6,650 “forcibly displaced persons” entered Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh since last week, with more pouring... Read more

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan speaks during a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 21, 2023, in New York City. The security council held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.

‘Destruction’ of ethnic Armenians is imminent, experts warn

Sep 21, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

On Wednesday, ethnic Armenians in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to lay down their arms and dissolve their military... Read more

Protestors gather in downtown Yerevan, Armenia, on Sept. 20, 2023, as separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan’s authorities announced they would cease hostilities, signaling the end of an “anti-terror” operation launched just one day earlier by Azerbaijan’s forces in the breakaway region.

Ethnic Armenians surrender and disarm following Azerbaijan offensive

Sep 20, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

A day after an Azerbaijan offensive in which as many as 100 were killed, ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh have agreed... Read more

Pope Francis speaks at his general audience on Sept. 20, 2023.

Pope Francis appeals for peace in Nagorno-Karabakh: ‘Silence the weapons’

Sep 20, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Speaking to more than 15,000 people in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said Wednesday that he was troubled by the... Read more

Armenians protest to urge the government to respond to the Azerbaijani military operation launched against the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region outside the government building in central Yerevan on Sept. 19, 2023.

Azerbaijan unleashes military strikes against Armenian Christians in Nagorno-Karabakh

Sep 19, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Azerbaijan said the attacks will not stop until the ethnic Armenians’ total surrender.  Read more

Students on the first day of school in September 2021 at the Antonia Arslan Armenian-Italian Hamalir in Stepanakert, Artsakh. The school was “established in order to help the Artsakhtsi strengthen and rebuild” and offers a variety of courses, programs, and educational opportunities.

American professor who founded school in Artsakh says Christians there are starving

Sep 9, 2023

By Zoe Romanowsky

Siobhan Nash-Marshall, founder of the Christians in Need Foundation, spoke to CNA about her work in the Nagorno-Karabakh region (Artsakh). Read more

Armenian Caritas, with the support of Catholic Relief Services and USAID (United States Agency for International Development), launched the Immediate Assistance to Displaced Families of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict program in the Ararat region. Food and non-food assistance is provided to help vulnerable households displaced from Nagorno-Krabakh to meet their needs while they figure out what next steps to take amid the uncertain situation.

U.S. bishops call for opening of corridor to allow aid to Armenian Christians 

Sep 8, 2023

By Daniel Payne

The USCCB said in a press release Thursday that recent reports have indicated a “devastating impact” of the blockade of... Read more

In a Sept. 6, 2023, hearing, Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, accused the government of Azerbaijan of committing genocide against Armenian Christians in disputed territory in the country.

Lawmaker accuses Azerbaijan of ‘genocide,’ seeks answers on Biden administration’s plan

Sep 7, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

Rep. Chris Smith in a hearing Sept. 6 accused the Azerbaijan government of committing genocide against Armenian Christians in disputed... Read more

Demonstrators rally in support of Karabakh to demand the reopening of a blockaded road linking the Nagorno-Karabakh region to Armenia and to decry crisis conditions in the region, in Yerevan on July 25, 2023.

Armenian Christians trapped and facing genocide: an explainer

Aug 9, 2023

By Peter Pinedo, Kevin J. Jones

Over 120,000 Christian Armenians are currently trapped behind a blockade of the Nagorno-Karabakh region maintained by Muslim-majority Azerbaijan. Read more

Relatives and friends of those killed in six weeks of fighting for control of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region visit the Yerablur Military Memorial Cemetery in Yerevan on Sept. 27, 2022, on the second anniversary of the conflict.

‘Religious cleansing’ threatens Armenian Christians’ existence, human rights leaders warn

Jun 21, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

“Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s backing, is really slowly strangling” the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, said Sam Brownback, religious freedom ambassador. Read more

Children warming their hands over a wood-fired oven in Nagorno-Karabakh

Warning of ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Nagorno-Karabakh

Dec 30, 2022

By Madeleine Teahan

A leading politician serving the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) has strongly echoed Pope Francis’ concerns about the humanitarian situation in... Read more

Pope Francis delivers the Angelus address on Sept. 18, 2022.

Pope Francis: Christians cannot be indifferent to corruption

Sep 18, 2022

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis’ comments on corruption were inspired by one of Jesus’ parables that the pope said can be difficult to... Read more

Dadivank, an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery in the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan.

Human rights activist asks UNESCO to ensure protection of Nagorno-Karabakh’s historic Christian sites

Feb 18, 2022

By CNA Staff

The sites include 161 churches. Read more

Pope Francis meets with Catholicos Karekin II, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, on Oct. 16, 2021.

The Vatican strengthens ties with the world’s oldest Christian nation

Oct 20, 2021

By Andrea Gagliarducci

A week of high-level meetings has brought the Holy See and Armenia ever closer. Read more

Armenian refugees at Novorossiysk, 1920

Christian advocates praise Biden for recognizing Armenian genocide

Apr 26, 2021

Christian advocates praised President Joe Biden for officially recognizing the Armenian genocide over the weekend. Read more

Archbishop Raphael Minassian with Gia Chacón, organizer of Operation Christmas for Armenia. Photos courtesy of For the Martyrs.

‘This is our mission’: Catholic archbishop brings aid to suffering Armenians

Jan 7, 2021

By Luke Coppen

Archbishop Raphael Minassian is a man of action who has little time for the formalities of ecclesiastical life.  Read more

Archbishop José Bettencourt, papal nuncio to Georgia and Armenia.

Papal envoy travels to Armenia in aftermath of 44-day war

Dec 14, 2020

By Courtney Mares

A papal envoy traveled to Armenia last week to speak with civil and Christian leaders in the aftermath of the... Read more

A billboard in Yerevan featuring the flags of Armenia and the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on Oct. 7, 2020.

Armenia’s ambassador to Vatican stresses threat of Syrian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh

Nov 12, 2020

By Courtney Mares

The Armenian ambassador to the Holy See said Wednesday that the recruitment and deployment of Syrian Islamist extremists to the... Read more

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Sep 29
Sts. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Archangels
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Discipline of sister who led community co-founded by Rupnik raises questions

A mourner holds up an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the funeral on Sept. 27, 2023, of victims who were killed when a fire ripped through a crowded wedding hall in the mainly Christian northern city of Qaraqosh, Iraq, also known as Hamdaniyah. At least 100 people were killed, officials said, pointing to indoor fireworks as the likely cause for the blaze that sparked a panicked stampede for the exits.

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Jim Irsay, a billionaire businessman who grew up in the Chicago area, praised his cousin Sister Joyce Dura’s service to others during her time as a religious sister.

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Cardinal-elect Stephen Chow said Sept. 28, 2023, that evangelization in China today should focus on communicating the love of God “without the agenda of turning them into Catholics.”

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Ruben Vardanyan, a former high-ranking official in the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, was arrested by Azerbaijan authorities on Sept. 27, 2023, as he attempted to flee the region along with over 50,000 other ethnic Armenian refugees.

Former Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian leader arrested as over 50,000 refugees flee region