His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia are encouraging a global prayer initiative for Armenians being held hostage by Azerbaijan, on the eve of the United Nations Climate Summit, the COP29, which will kick off in Baku on November 11.
On the initiative of Karekin II, an ecumenical prayer for peace and justice in Armenia and the release of hostages illegally held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, will be held in Armenian churches around the world on November 10.
The prayers will take place in all dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church around the world. Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I, and the World Council of Churches also have joined the initiative.
Karekin II called on all Armenians to come to churches and join the prayer. He noted that this event can help draw the attention of the world community to the issue of captives ahead of the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan on November 11.
“It is our sincere hope that this spiritual effort will raise global awareness of this ongoing humanitarian crisis and will promote a peace-bearing solution, based on truth and justice,” said Karekin II.
In his turn, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I called on all religious communities to unite in prayer to raise awareness about the plight of the Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan.
“We call on all religious communities, international organizations and people of good will to join our prayers and intensify efforts to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian captives from Baku. We remind the international community participating in the COP29 summit that justice and peace are closely interrelated and cannot be separated from each other. We cannot demand climate justice without condemning human rights violations,” Aram I said.
This follows the both pontiffs’ solidarity with the World Council of Churches, which is organizing a prayer in Geneva on Sunday.
The WCC, whose members are more than three hundred Christian churches from more than a hundred countries, also expressed its readiness to join the Day of Prayer dedicated to Armenia for the establishment of peace, support for refugees and the release of prisoners.
WCC General Secretary Jerry Pillay called on all churches to join in prayer on November 10 and to appeal to the international community to continue to provide support.
“We remain in prayerful solidarity with the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenia’s ecumenical partners,” said Jerry Pillay, reiterating the call for a just and lasting peace in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights laws.
The World Council of Churches is the largest international ecumenical organization, uniting some 400 million Christians worldwide.
