Pray for: Armenia

Centuries of bitter conflict, oppression, and massacres left Armenians with hatred and mistrust of their neighbours. From 1915-1917, the Turks killed up to 1.5 million Armenians in a merciless genocide. Conflict with Azerbaijan, from 1988-1994 and then 2020-2023, ended in the cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh of its Armenian population by the victorious Azerbaijani forces. The attendant accusations of genocide committed by Azerbaijan has chilling resonance with Armenia’s past. Armenians are understandably shaken, especially when its traditional support from Russian melted away, and the world’s focus was on Ukraine and Israel. Pray that the Lord might exercise His power to assert peace over the region. Pray that Armenians might be free from such terrible fear of repeated genocide, and that despite their pain, would learn to forgive.

Armenia was the world’s first Christian nation, with a Christian legacy of more than 1,700 years. Praise God for the survival of the Armenian Church through the centuries, despite frequent and harsh oppression. Pray that Armenian Christians might become a source of light and blessing to the region. Evangelical Christianity thrives among the Armenian diaspora (up to 8 million), with many congregations in the Middle East, North America, and elsewhere. Armenian Christians have only now begun to recognize the blessing of their Christian heritage and the mission responsibility that goes with it.