STEPANAKERT, Artsakh (ChurchMilitant.com) – An Armenian Catholic bishop is imploring the faithful around the world to join in prayer as over 100,000 Christian Armenians face imminent starvation in the Caucasus.
Armenian Catholic Bp. Mikaël Mouradian
The Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in the United States and Canada is collaborating with an international online prayer forum to promote a novena for the Armenian Christians facing death by starvation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The region, referred to by locals as Artsakh, lies within Muslim-ruled Azerbaijan.
Armenian Catholic Bp. Mikaël Mouradian is speaking out against the stranglehold over the region exerted by the Azerbaijani government, asserting it amounts to an “ethnic cleansing of Christians.”
An administrator from Hozana, the prayer forum hosting the novena, tells Church Militant that the novena‘s structure allows anyone to join at their convenience and start from day 1. He passionately urges people to pray fervently for the spiritual and physical deliverance of the Armenians.
For the past eight months, Azerbaijan has completely sealed off the Lachin corridor, the sole route linking Artsakh to the outside world. While the road was initially controlled by Russian peacekeeping forces, Azerbaijan has assumed de facto control since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
With the road, often dubbed “the road of life” by locals, now entirely blockaded, the inflow of water, food, fuel and other essential provisions into Artsakh has ground to a halt. This situation has escalated into a severe humanitarian crisis — an issue scarcely covered by mainstream media. The dire shortage of sustenance has been exacerbated by power outages, further threatening the vulnerable population as the harsh winter months approach.
Reports from local sources detail residents collapsing from hunger while waiting in line for rations. Authorities reveal that 1 in 3 deaths is due to severe malnutrition. Heartbreakingly, a pregnant woman lost her unborn child due to the unavailability of fuel to transport her to a hospital.
A journalist stationed outside of Artsakh, speaking with someone within the region over the phone, relates that individuals are compelled to walk many miles to stand in line for the mere promise of food. Feelings of hopelessness pervade, with one young man expressing, “[S]ooner or later my home, my city, my country will be taken by Azerbaijan.”
Back in February, the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to ensure “unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.” However, the proliferation of military checkpoints along the corridor poses significant challenges, even impeding the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross to transport patients in need of medical care.
Despite efforts in June, when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the foreign ministers of both Armenia and Azerbaijan to mediate a resolution, the talks have yielded minimal improvement to the lives of the people in Artsakh.
A statement on the Armenian Catholic Eparchy’s website sums up the impact of the roadblock on Artsakh: “Azerbaijan’s blockade has presented the most serious humanitarian crisis for Armenians since the Armenian Genocide [in 1915–16 perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire]. With 120,000 lives under threat of ethnic cleansing and renewed genocide, the world continues to stay silent whilst Armenians suffer.”
The Armenian Catholic Church is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with the Holy See, led by the pope in Rome.
Thaddeus and Bartholomew
The Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg serves the United States and Canada and is currently led by Bp. Mikaël Mouradian, I.C.P.B. There are an estimated 45,000 Armenian Catholics across the United States and Canada. The Eparchy’s headquarters is situated at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Glendale, California.
Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as an official religion in A.D. 301, although it was practiced secretly before then. The Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew evangelized the region between A.D. 40–60.
The organizers of the novena at Hozana fervently implore all individuals to pray for the people of Artsakh, emphasizing:
The situation is dire and the Armenians in Artsakh need heavenly succor, material support, and deliverance, and all involved need conversion in Christ! Praying this perpetual Novena and fasting are important ways to plea [sic] to God to help the Armenians and their persecutors to know Christ and His peace. Thank you for your immediate help in this way.
For those who want to know more about the novena and ways to pray with other Catholics around the world, visit the Hozana website or email alexander@hozana.org.