NEW YORK: October 14, 2020
Statement from the Chancery of the Synod of Bishops on the Armed Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh

On today’s feast day of Holy Hieromartyr Gregory, Illuminator of Great Armenia, we fervently pray to God and His saint for the peaceful populace of Nagorno-Karabakh. We deeply grieve for the great losses among the civil population, the destruction of schools and hospitals, the attacks on the people’s holy sites, which all bear witness to serious military crimes.

In the Cathedral of St Basil the Great, so dear to the heart of Russia, which celebrates its feast day on the Protection of the Most-Holy Mother of God today, one of the chapels is dedicated to Holy Hieromartyr Gregory, whose memory is likewise celebrated today. Therefore, we call upon our clergy and flock today to pray for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, for the peoples of Azerbaijan and Armenia, that the Lord bless their hearts with His unearthly, eternal peace, and we call upon the international community, especially representatives of other confessions, to the decisive condemnation of the grave violations of international human rights.

October 13
Holy Hieromartyr Gregory,
Illiumanator of Great Armenia.