Armenia, which adopted Christianity as its state religion in the early 300s, is the world’s first Christian nation. Tradition holds that St. Thaddeus preached there in the first century.

Armenians have a very strong connection to the Armenian Apostolic Church. About 97% of the country’s citizens belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, an Eastern Christian denomination in communion with the other Orthodox churches.

So many centuries later and Christians throughout this part of the world, and including Nagorno-Karabakh (where 90% of the population is Christian), remain in a state of crisis.

In a column for The Christian Post earlier this month, Hedieh Mirahmad, who runs Resurrect Ministry, pointed out that the situation for Armenian Christians isn’t getting better.

“The destruction of Christian communities like Nagaro Karabakh is a tragedy with profound consequences,” she wrote. “These communities, which have preserved their faith and heritage for centuries, are now facing extinction in many parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The events of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath have played a pivotal role in exacerbating these challenges, from increasing religious tensions to regional instability and mass migration.”

This past June, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom Sam Brownback warned that ongoing conflict threatened the existence of Christian communities. Brownback’s statements, following a fact-finding trip to Armenia with the Christian group Philos Project, called Azerbaijan, an Islamic nation, a “religious cleansing” of Christians.

“Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s backing, is really slowly strangling Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said. “They’re working to make it unlivable so that the region’s Armenian-Christian population is forced to leave, that’s what’s happening on the ground.”

Philos Project President Robert Nicholson called the situation “extremely urgent and existential.”

“This is the oldest Christian nation facing again for the second time in only about a century the possibility of a genocide,” he added, referring to the death of 1.5 million Armenians starting in 1915 during the Ottoman Empire that the U.S. recognizes as a genocide.

Former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardenyan said many civilians were killed as a result of this latest attack. He told the Catholic news channel EWTN that the international community needs to come to the defense of Christians in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

“The Christian world needs to realize this is unacceptable,” Vardenyan said. “I believe that only together we can stop this war.”