<p>Later this month, I will travel to Armenia as part of a delegation of American Christian leaders. By historical consensus, Armenia is the world’s first Christian nation, having adopted Christianity in AD 301, more than a decade before Constantine&#8217;s Edict of Milan that granted religious liberty to Christians and others across the realm.</p>
<p>Over the centuries, Armenia has preserved its Christian faith through hostile enemy invasions, forced conversions, and even genocide. Despite being surrounded by autocratic regimes and militant ideologies that directly contest its survival, it has maintained its original faith.</p>
<p>In 2023, the world witnessed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-hate-us-so-much-worlds-oldest-christian-nation-faces-ethnic-cleansing-as-emboldened-azerbaijan-wages-a-silent-war">forced displacement</a> of over 120,000 Christian Armenians from their ancestral homeland of Artsakh (widely known as Nagorno-Karabakh), which had long been a self-governing democratic entity within the international borders of Azerbaijan.</p>
<p>The removal of these Christians was the result of a brutal blockade, military assault, and systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing by despotic Azerbaijan, backed by authoritarian Turkey. Sadly, the world’s response to this attack on freedom, religious liberty, self-government, and the right of political self-determination was largely silence.</p>
<p>As Scripture reminds us, “If one member suffers, all suffer together” <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/1%20Corinthians%2012%3A26">(1 Corinthians 12:26</a>). Armenia’s suffering must be our concern, not only because of our shared faith but because Armenia’s fate determines whether ancient Christian civilizations will be allowed to survive in an increasingly hostile neighborhood.</p>
<p>Azerbaijan currently holds dozens of Armenian political prisoners, including former political and religious leaders and journalists. It has demolished centuries-old churches, bulldozed cemeteries, and attempted to erase every vestige of the region’s indigenous Christian heritage. What it cannot destroy is often defaced, and border communities in southern Armenia live in constant fear of violence.</p>
<p>Our trip is organized by <a href="https://www.savearmenia.us/">Save Armenia</a>, a U.S.-based coalition of Christian and Jewish leaders. We draw global attention to these current threats and offer meaningful solidarity to Christians and Jews living in a perilous region. In the aftermath of recent ethnic cleansings, Save Armenia has mobilized support to protect Armenia’s sovereignty, advocate for justice, and raise awareness among American faith communities and policymakers alike.</p>
<p>Our itinerary is both spiritual and strategic.</p>
<p>We will visit displaced families who have lost everything yet remain deeply rooted in faith, and we will hear the voices of a people who have suffered for their faith yet never abandoned it.</p>
<p>We will walk through villages near hostile frontiers, speak with the provincial governor, and meet with high-ranking officials from Armenia’s Foreign Ministry and Security Council.</p>
<p>We will stand in monasteries older than most nations, praying in the 9th-century monastery of Tatev, perched high above a gorge in Armenia’s south. And we will stand in the ancient 3rd-century monastery where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was once imprisoned, and where the story of Christian Armenia began.</p>
<p>We believe Christians everywhere have a moral responsibility to help their persecuted brethren. We speak up for persecuted Christians in the Middle East and Africa, and we must not ignore what is occurring in Armenia. Religious freedom cannot be a selective principle.</p>
<p>Armenia has had a rocky path since regaining its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is now a pluralistic and scrappy democracy striving for peace and justice under immense pressure.</p>
<p>It does not enjoy the protections of NATO, the backing of global oil wealth, or the security of a powerful military. What it does enjoy is a legacy of faith, a thirst for freedom, and a history that dates back to the earliest days of the Church. Armenia must continue to exist as a free nation.</p>
<p>We urge our fellow Christians to learn more about our brethren there and help raise awareness about its dangerous situation.</p>
<p>Inform your church, and pray for our brothers and sisters there.</p>
<p>Also, let the federal Congressmen and Senators from your state know what is happening in and to Armenia. Knowledge is power, and once they know, they can take effective action.</p>
<p>Specifically…</p>
<ol>
<li>Let them know about the recent ethnic cleansings at the hands of Azerbaijan.</li>
<li>Urge them to seek the release of all Armenian political prisoners.</li>
<li>Likewise, urge the defense of Armenia’s Christian heritage — demand that Azerbaijan preserve intact, without desecration or destruction, the ancient Armenian cultural and religious sites it controls.</li>
<li>Insist on the preservation of Armenia’s borders against it neighbors who want to seize and control that land area.</li>
</ol>
<p>Collectively, we must support the Trump Administration’s efforts to help Armenia, but we must also encourage our federal legislators to do the same. Urge their specific engagement on the above matters.</p>
<p>It’s easy to despair in today’s world, but Armenia offers a different lesson: that faith, even when bruised, can endure —that Christian identity, even when threatened, will inspire — and that moral solidarity can still change the course of history.</p>
<p>Let us not stand idly by when there is so much we can easily do to help our brethren.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/48949/sunday-special-ep-57-david-barton">David Barton</a> is the Founder of WallBuilders and the author of numerous best-selling books. </em></p>
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Why Christians Must Stand With Armenia