Karabakh’s Armenians start to leave en masse for Armenia
Stepanakert, Azerbaijan Reuters Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh began a mass exodus by car on Sunday towards Armenia after Azerbaijan defeated the breakaway region’s fighters in a conflict dating from the Soviet era. The Nagorno-Karabakh leadership told Reuters the region’s 120,000 Armenians did not want to live as part of Azerbaijan for fear of persecution and […]
Jerusalem: In contested Old City, shrinking Armenian community fears displacement after land deal
ISABEL DEBRE, of Associated Press, reports on concerns among the Armenian community over their future in the city…
Israeli restrictions on ‘Holy Fire’ ignite Christian outrage
JerusalemAP Christians celebrated their “Holy Fire” ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Saturday against a backdrop of rising tensions with Israel, which imposed new restrictions on attendance this year that it said were needed for safety. Israel says it wants to prevent another disaster after a crowd stampede at a […]
Postcards: Dwindling Armenians show Easter faith in Romania
ANDREEA ALEXANDRU and VADIM GHIRDA, of Associated Press, report from Bucharest…
Iranian church closed, cross torn down
World Watch Monitor An Assyrian church in northwestern Iran has been closed down and the cross removed from its tower, reports advocacy organisation Article 18. A “large number” of agents from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and EIKO, an organisation presided over by the Supreme Leader, reportedly stormed the 100-year-old-church on 9th May, changed all the locks, […]
Turkey’s Churches publish landmark book of common Christian doctrine
World Watch Monitor A joint commission of Turkey’s major Christian denominations has published an historic book of concise Christian doctrine, receiving the unprecedented endorsement of all the nation’s Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Syriac and Protestant Churches. According to Armenian Bishop Sahak Masalyan, keynote speaker at the formal book launch in Istanbul of the English edition on […]
Iranian MPs seek to change law so voters can only vote for candidates from their own religion
World Watch Monitor Conservative MPs within Iran’s parliament are proposing that Iranians should only be allowed to vote for members of their own religious group. In Iran, where 90 to 95 per cent of the population is Shia Muslim, this will essentially mean that it will be impossible for members of religious minorities to be […]