The Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions held its yearly meeting from October 30^th to November 3^rd, 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, 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 21^st 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 3^rd. 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 12^th 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.

Fr Hrant also emphasized the crisis faced by the 120,000 Artskah refugees currently in the border towns of Armenia, and the importance of providing them their full rights and dignity, as an involuntarily displaced people who’ve lost their homes. He shunned the Azerbaijani claim that they are welcome to become citizens, a pretense that no human rights organization is taking seriously whilst the Aliyev regime is threatening Armenia proper with a new front of the war using exclaves and corridors as excuses.

Members of the conferences inquired about the suffering and difficulties faced by the people of Armenia and specifically of Artsakh, living under the shadow of two Genocidal regimes.  In reply to the interest of the Churches on how best to advocate, Fr. Hrant stressed the importance of opening embassies in Armenia proper, and specifically in the province of Suynik. He shared the news of the recent unveiling of the new Canadian Embassy as well as the European Union Mission, not without an attached symbolic statement, in defense of the territorial integrity of Armenia, and the rights of self-determination of the indigenous people of Artsakh. Finally, aid to the refugees was also prioritized and members of the conference assured of the expansion of their commitment in this regard.