The Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church informs that His Grace Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan has sent an official appeal to the President of the United States of America, members of the US Senate and Congress, the Pope, as well as the heads of Christian churches and influential international organizations, drawing their attention to the continuous destruction of the Armenian Christian spiritual and cultural heritage in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan.

In the application, Pargev Srbazan emphasizes that it is not only about the Armenian heritage, but about the protection of sanctuaries, church monuments, cemeteries, khachkars and historical memory representing pan-Christian and pan-human value. He presents the data recorded by international organizations and confirmed by academic monitoring on factual bases, emphasizing that the material evidences of the Armenian Christian presence in the region are subjected to systematic destruction.

The complete Armenian text of the application is presented below.

“I appeal to you with deep respect regarding a tragedy that affects not only the Armenian people, but also the entire Christian world. The destruction of the Armenian Christian cultural and spiritual heritage continues in the territories passed under the control of Azerbaijan, against churches, cemeteries, sanctuaries, monuments of church architecture and other sacred monuments testifying to the centuries-old presence of Christianity on that land.

The fact that two churches were destroyed one after the other in Stepanakert in recent days, the Saint Hakob church and the main shrine of the city, the Saint John’s Mother Cathedral, is particularly alarming. These new attacks prove that it is no longer about individual cases of vandalism, but about the consistent and purposeful elimination of the material evidence of the Armenian Christian spiritual and historical-cultural presence.

For us, this is not a matter of political rhetoric, nor a topic of historical controversy. This is a question of protecting sanctities, a question of protecting historical truth, a question of responsibility towards the memory of generations, and a question of preserving the spiritual heritage that belongs not only to one nation, but also to the entire Christian civilization.

On December 7, 2021, the UN International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration against Armenian cultural heritage, including churches, places of worship, monuments, cemeteries and artifacts. Such a decision of the highest court of the United Nations testifies to how serious and real the threat to the Armenian heritage was recognized even at that time.

On March 10, 2022, the European Parliament, in its official resolution, strongly condemned the policy of erasure and denial of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh and firmly demanded that UNESCO grant unhindered access to the monuments under the control of Azerbaijan. However, in its official statement of December 21, 2025, UNESCO recorded that only Azerbaijan’s response was still awaited in order to send a mission on the spot, despite multiple applications. This means that the independent international assessment of the state of sanctuaries and monuments has not been carried out in full.

Meanwhile, Caucasus Heritage Watch, an independent academic satellite monitoring program run by researchers at Cornell and Purdue universities, said in written testimony to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that since 2021, Azerbaijan has destroyed 14 heritage sites, damaged another 14, and 30 sites are at imminent risk of damage or destruction. Among the already documented cases are the destruction of the famous Green Hour of the Church of Saint Hovhannes the Baptist in Shushi, which took place between December 28, 2023 and April 4, 2024, as well as the complete destruction of the Ghazanchetsots cemetery in Shushi, which was recorded by satellite photos in April 2024.

These facts cause deep pain especially because it is not just about old stones or architectural monuments. We are talking about places of prayer, sanctuaries sanctified by the faith of the people, living traces of Christian life preserved for centuries. When such sanctuaries are destroyed, not only the cultural landscape is destroyed, but also the spiritual memory, the historical legacy and the testimony of the Christian presence in the region are attacked.

It is also particularly worrying that this problem has already found an echo in the international Christian world. In 2026, the World Council of Churches published a special collection dedicated to the freedom of religion and the preservation of the Armenian religious, cultural and historical heritage of Artsakh. In that publication, it is clearly stated that it is a response to the forced displacement of the Armenian population after the events of 2023 and the most serious threats to the Armenian sanctities and cultural heritage of the region.

The 2026 report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, also mentions that the issue of the destruction of Armenian religious heritage was raised in the US Congress, and American lawmakers drew special attention to the destruction of Armenian religious objects in the region. This means that the necessary factual basis for a serious international response already exists. However, a sufficiently clear, consistent and effective response is still lacking.

Therefore, with deep respect, I ask you to pay serious attention to the continuous destruction of the Armenian Christian heritage in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan.

Please raise your voice for the protection of those sanctities that belong not only to the Armenian people, but also to the entire Christian world and the common heritage of human civilization.

please you

a) give a clear and public moral and legal assessment of the ongoing destruction of Armenian churches, cemeteries, khachkars and other Christian monuments,

b) support the request of UNESCO and other competent international organizations for immediate and unhindered access to these sanctuaries and monuments,

c) contribute to the creation of a stable international mechanism for monitoring the state of Armenian religious and cultural heritage in the region,

d) use all your available political, diplomatic, public and ecclesiastical opportunities so that the issue of protection of this heritage is raised in a clear, consistent and effective manner,

(e) take all possible measures to protect those sanctuaries that can still be saved from final destruction.

Please do not leave unprotected those Christian sanctuaries, which today need not only words of sympathy, but also real attention, international protection and a firm moral position.

If the international community really recognizes the value of the Christian heritage, then today the moment has come to confirm it not only with statements, but also with deeds. If the destruction of sanctuaries anywhere else in the world causes universal indignation, then the destruction of Armenian churches and cemeteries should not remain without a clear response just because we are talking about a small nation and a politically complex region.

At such moments, the silence of the international community is perceived as particularly difficult. That is why today more than ever it is important that a clear, dignified and responsible voice is heard in defense of the destroyed sanctuaries and the violated historical memory.

With deep hope, I appeal to your conscience, your sense of responsibility and your loyalty to those Christian and universal values ​​that teach not to pass by someone else’s pain and not to remain indifferent to injustice.

With respect and trust,
Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan
Clergyman of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
Patriarchal Delegate,
Leader of the Diocese of Artsakh: 1989-2021.

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