By Avedis Hadjian and 300 other personalities*

–

STATEMENT ON THE VATICAN’S COMPLICITY IN AZERBAIJAN’S FALSIFICATION AND  ERASURE OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH HISTORY AND HERITAGE

On April 10, 2025, the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome hosted a conference titled  “Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modernity.” It was organized by the Baku International  Multiculturalism Center, the Bakikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology of the National  Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Holy See,  and the Albanian-Udi Christian Religious Community.

This event served not as an academic endeavor but as a platform for pseudo-scholarly  revisionism. It advanced state-sponsored narratives aimed at erasing the historical presence of  the Armenian Church and appropriating its monuments by falsely attributing them to the ancient  Caucasian Albanians—an entirely different people unrelated to modern Albanians of Europe.  The true aim was clear: to delegitimize the indigenous roots of Armenians and portray them as  foreign to their own ancestral lands.

The papers presented were part of a well-documented, decades-long propaganda campaign  aimed at distorting the millennia-old legacy of the Armenian Church—on Armenian soil now  occupied by a regime with a proven record of cultural eradication. These falsifications are far  from being benign errors of scholarship but stand as deliberate acts of historical aggression.  They come less than two years after Azerbaijan’s nine-month inhuman blockade and then  genocidal assault on Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, which resulted in the ethnic  cleansing of 120,000 indigenous Christian Armenians. This atrocity followed the 44-Day War of  2020, when Azerbaijan, supported by foreign mercenaries affiliated with ISIS and Al-Qaeda,  launched an unprovoked offensive targeting civilians and religious sites—including the  Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi.

Azerbaijan’s assault on Armenian cultural heritage is nothing new. It is part of a long-standing  policy of cultural genocide modeled on Turkey’s example that has been carried out everywhere  on its territory. The most outstanding examples were offered between 1990 and 2009, when  some 10,000 khachkars—sacred Armenian cross-stones—were razed in Julfa, Nakhichevan, in  what UNESCO and scholars have called one of the worst acts of cultural destruction in the 21st century.

What makes this episode uniquely alarming is the Vatican’s glaring complicity. The conference  enjoyed the full knowledge—and in some cases, participation—of high-ranking Vatican officials.  These included Fr. Mark Lewis, S.J., Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University; Cardinal  Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches; and Bishop Vladimir  Fekete, Prefect of the Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan.

The Pontifical Gregorian University has said that it was not involved in any way in the  organization of the conference, nor did it grant any patronage or any collaboration. No academic

authority or professor of the Pontifical Gregorian University delivered greetings, lectures or  attended the event. The university has said that it merely rented the classroom.*

Although the University maintains that it merely rented the auditorium, the prominent display of  the Vatican and Azerbaijani flags on stage unmistakably lends the event the appearance of  official sponsorship.

While Azerbaijan’s use of denialist propaganda is expected, it is unacceptable that such  revisionism was allowed to take root within a major academic institution of the Holy See.  Conferences like this have long been staged in Baku for propaganda purposes, and this happened  to be the twelfth conference on the subject. But to host one in Rome, under the Vatican’s  auspices, lends a false legitimacy to lies that serve a genocidal agenda.

In a letter sent to the conference, Cardinal Gugerotti—himself a noted Armenologist— shamefully parroted Azerbaijani regime talking points. He made no mention of the hundreds of  Armenian churches, cemeteries, and cultural monuments under occupation or the regime’s  current efforts to erase their Armenian identity. Instead, he sang the praises of Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan, a crossroads of peoples and faiths, is an ancient land on which a Christian tradition  was preserved that has its roots in the era of Caucasian Albania,” Cardinal Gugerotti wrote. “The  sacred monuments, churches, manuscripts and memories of the whole represent not only artistic testimonies, but tangible expressions of the soul of a people who knew how to honor God in a  variety of forms and in the faithfulness of their faith.”

The conference itself was cloaked in secrecy, announced publicly only the day before it  occurred. Its proceedings were not made available online, nor was any list of speakers or  participants published—an affront to all norms of transparency in academic life. This deliberate  opacity suggests that both organizers and Vatican officials were fully aware of the conference’s  disingenuous objectives and sought to minimize public scrutiny.

This event is part of Azerbaijan’s relentless campaign of cultural genocide, following the ethnic  cleansing of Artsakh and state-sponsored hate speech calling for the erasure of Armenia. The  regime’s rhetoric—referring to the Republic of Armenia as “Western Azerbaijan”—is not empty  talk. It is paired with a systematic policy of violence, denial, and erasure, backed by a military  and financial apparatus committed to Armenophobia.

The Vatican’s decision to collaborate with such a regime is not just a moral failure—it is an  alarming betrayal of its own foundational values. It is a grave scandal that undermines the Holy  See’s credibility as a voice for peace, justice, and the dignity of persecuted peoples. It also  betrays the profound spiritual and historical bonds that have long united the Armenian people  and the Catholic Church. That bond is now threatened by political expediency and material gain:  the Vatican has cultivated increasingly close financial ties with the authoritarian regime of  Azerbaijan in recent years. As documented by IrpiMedia, Azerbaijan has funded restoration projects at the Roman catacombs, the Vatican Museums, the Vatican Apostolic Library, and even  St. Peter’s Basilica. In February 2020, Mehriban Aliyeva—spouse of Ilham Aliyev and Vice  President of Azerbaijan—was awarded the Order of Pope Pius IX, the highest Papal order of  knighthood. The Vatican’s decision to honor the representative of such a regime has rightly  provoked international outrage.

The involvement of senior Vatican officials in an act that effectively legitimizes cultural  genocide against Armenia—the world’s first Christian nation—is a demonstration of profound  moral bankruptcy. It stands in stark contradiction to the core Christian values of justice, truth,  and solidarity, as well as the historic fraternal ties that have long united the Armenian people and  the Holy See.

We, the undersigned, call on the international community to unequivocally condemn the  Vatican’s decision to host this conference on the premises of the Pontifical Gregorian  University—in the wake of the brutal ethnic cleansing of 120,000 Christian Armenians.

Furthermore, we urge the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, and Protestant Churches, along with  their parishes around the world, the Armenian government, institutions both in Armenia and  throughout the Diaspora, and all Armenian organizations and political parties globally, to take a  firm and united stand: declare Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Fr. Mark Lewis, and Bishop  Vladimir Fekete personae non gratae. Through their participation in, or complicity with, this  act of historical falsification and moral betrayal, they have forfeited any standing or welcome  among the Armenian faithful. They must not be permitted to set foot in Armenia, nor be received  in any Armenian church, institution, or community.

This is not merely a political or academic issue—it is a moral and spiritual crisis. Silence and  inaction are no longer options.

* This petition was updated adding the paragraph marked by an asterisk on April 14, 2025, with this  clarification by the Pontifical Gregorian University about its involvement in the conference.  

We, the undersigned,

1 Dr. Bedros Der Matossian University of Nebraska-Lincoln

2 Avedis Hadjian

3 Dr. Vartan Matiossian

4 Dr. Alain Navarra

Navassartian

5 Konstantinos Takirtakoglou Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

6 Dr. Arsene Saparov Rabdan Academy

7 Dr. Pietro A. Shakarian National Research University–Higher School of Economics,  St. Petersburg

8 Gregory Aftandilian

9 Dr. Naira Sahakyan American University of Armenia

10 Dr. Suren Manukyan Armenian Genocide Museum & Institute  11 Christina Maranci Harvard University

12 Prof. Talinn Grigor University of California, Davis

13 Lucine Kasbarian Independent journalist

14 Christine Hovhannisyan

15 Carlos Antaramián El Colegio de Michoacán

16 Liza Yessaian

17 David Boyajian Journalist, investigative reporter

18 David Davidian Lecturer, American University of Armenia  19 Stephan Pechdimaldji

20 Vic Gerami Truth And Accountability League (TAAL)  21 Mihran Toumajan Advisory Board, Global ARM

22 Raffi Setian

23 Bedros Yessaian

24 Hrip Ashjian

25 Dr. Ashley Bozian St. John’s University

26 Sonia Sanan Kiledjian

27 Raffi Ajemian

28 Prof. Lee E. Patterson Eastern Illinois University

29 Harold Takooshian Fordham University

30 Houri Berberian University of California, Irvine

31 Madlen Avetyan

32 Odett Zeynalyan

33 Arthur Bakirciyan

34 Marianne Mkrtchian Fordham University

35 Sima Aprahamian, Ph.D. Concordia University

36 Dr. Onnik Kiremitlian University of Louvain-la-Neuve

37 Thomas Hovagim Dir. of POPPA

38 Sukiasyan, Philippe Sahak Enseignant retraité France – Lyon 3 et Institut catholique de  Paris

39 Vahram L. Shemmassian California State University, Northridge  40 Seta Kabranian-Melkonian University of Alaska

41 Sergio La Porta California State University, Fresno

42 Dr. Viken Tufenkjian Independent scholar

43 Prof. Lerna Ekmekcioglu Massachusetts Institute of Technology  44 Dr. Elyse Semerdjian Clark University

45 Dr. Hagop Kouloujian University of California, Los Angeles  46 Aram Arkun

47 Tsolak Abdalian

48 Dr. Roberta Ervine

49 Taniel Tufenkjian Project Manager

50 Kevork Yazedjian (PhD  History)

Researcher, editor, Yerevan

51 Michael Stone Professor of Armenian Studies  52 Péter Kiss Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg  53 Dr. Armen Petrosyan Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography  54 Dr. Hovhannes Hakobyan Yerevan State University  55 Tigran Zargaryan Fundamental Scientific Library, NAS RA  56 Dr. Anna Aleksanyan UCLA

57 Tatevik Tamazyan The National Library of Armenia  58 Harut Sassounian

59 Dr. Harutyun Marutyan AGMI

60 Vicken Cheterian Université de Genève

61 Albert ten Kate Netherlands

62 Bernard Outtier CNRS France

63 Dr. Tsolin Nalbantian Leiden University

64 Dr. Vahram Ter-Matevosyan American University of Armenia  65 Dr. Sossie Kasbarian University of Stirling

66 Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev University of Sofia

67 István Perczel Central European University, Vienna  68 Sona Grigoryan University of Vienna, CEU  69 Veronika Džugan Hermanova University of Florence

70 Zuzana Urbanová Masaryk University

71 Yeghia Tashjian American University of Beirut  72 Tigrane Yegavian Schiller International University (Paris)  73 Kristine Grigoryan KU Leuven

74 Prof. Robin Meyer Université de Lausanne

75 Ioanna Rapti EPHE, Université PSL

76 Dr. Varak Ketsemanian American University of Beirut  77 Dr. Marina Bazzani Oxford

78 Prof. Dr. Cornelia Horn Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg  79 Dr. Robert Phenix Jr. Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg  80 Margarita Khakhanova Masaryk University

81 Patrick Donabédian Aix-Marseille Université  82 Prof. Dr. Armenuhi Drost Halle, Germany

83 Dr. Victoria Abrahamyan University of Geneva

84 Haroutioun Khatchadourian Independent researcher

85 Matthew Ari Jendian, Ph.D. California State University, Fresno  86 Diana Ghazaryan Pázmány Péter Catholic University

87 Prof. Robert Der Merguerian Aix-Marseille University

88 Fr. Garegin Aghababyan Paroisse de Chaville

89 Dr. Aram Kerovpyan Akn Center, Paris

90 Virginia Kerovpyan Musician

91 Dr. Arsen Arzumanyan Researcher

92 Bati Chétanian Aix-Marseille Université

93 Noïem Thomas Post-soviet studies graduate student  94 Dr. Gohar Haroutiounian Anthropologist of religions

95 Tatève Thomas Comparative literature student

96 Dr. Levon Marashlian Glendale Community College

97 Dr. Gayane Shagoyan Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, NAS RA  98 Anahit Ohanyan State Academy of Fine Arts of Armenia  99 Dr. Ruth Gornandt University of Oxford

100 Dr. David Zakarian California State University, Fresno  101 Arpine Avetisyan Matenadaran

102 Jean O. Meguerditchian Retired government official & consultant  103 Polina Ivanova Harvard University

104 Gabriele Damm

105Dr. Felipe Morales Carbonell

106Mari Firkatian University of Hartford

107Michael Martin Damm Evangelical Lutheran Pastor (retired), Germany  108Dr. Anna Ohanyan Stonehill College, USA

109Dr. Vahe Sahakyan University of Michigan-Dearborn

110Archbishop Norvan Zakarian Former Primate, Armenian Diocese of France  111 Carine Sukiasyan Assistant, Issy-Les-Moulineaux, France  112 David Barsamian Journalist, radio broadcaster

113 Mariam Dadyan American University of Armenia  114 Alessandro Orengo University of Pisa

115 Dr. Zohrab Gevorgyan NAS RA & American University of Armenia  116 Dr. Rachele Zanone University for Foreigners of Siena  117 Sona Haroutyunian Ca’ Foscari University of Venice  118 Anahit Safaryan University of Vienna

119 Dr. Stephen B. Riegg Texas A&M University

120 Dr. Thomas Simsarian Dolan Emory University

121 Shant Kazanjian

122 Mario D’Ambrosi University of Salerno

123 Hripsime Dayan Yerevan State University

124 Anna Di Toro University for Foreigners of Siena

125 Walter Scolese Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

126 Pierluigi Lanfranchi Aix-Marseille University

127 Tatevik Baghdasaryan Yerevan State University

128 Fabio Coden University of Verona

129Olga Vardazaryan

130 Lucine Karjian

131 Dr. Sylvie Merian

132 Nelli G. Manucharyan NAS RA, Institute of Archaeology & Ethnography  133 Garbis Korajian

134 Carlo Busini University for Foreigners of Perugia  135 Nelli Hakobyan Musical Nuances School of Music, Rome – New York  136 Inga Dudukchyan National University of Architecture, PhD student at  Matenadaran

137 Aida Haroutiounian Yerevan State University

138 Hans-Lukas Kieser University of Zurich & University of Newcastle  139 Dr. Shushan Khachatryan Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute  140 Dr. Hayk Hakobyan Matenadaran; Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography  141 Dr. Artyom H. Tonoyan Hamline University

142 Dr. Dikran M. Kaligian

143 Argam Ayvazyan

144 Monica Arzumanyan National Gallery of Armenia

145 Mannig Georgelin

146 Dr. Diana Gabrielyan Catholic University of America, Musical Nuances  147 Lusine Sargsyan Matenadaran

148 Antoon De Baets University of Groningen

149 Heghine Mkrtchyan

150 Karen Jallatyan Leibniz Institute (GWZO), Leipzig  151 Piruza Hayrapetyan Central European University (Vienna)  152 Lilit Martirosyan Center for Human Rights and Genocide Studies NGO  153 Gaghik Hakobyan Mechanical technician, Yerevan-Rome  154 Sophie Khachatryan

155 Gevorg S. Kazaryan Dr. of Theology, University of Athens  156 Anahit A. Hakobjanyan Lecturer, Yerevan State University (Bryusov)  157 Dr. Jos van Beurden Independent senior researcher

158 Thomas Notz Lecturer, Pedagogical University Bern  159 Dr. Sipke de Hoop University of Groningen

160 Piruza Khalapyan Photographer, 4Plus Documentary Center

161 César Augusto Duque  Sánchez

University of Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia

162 Frédéric Clavert University of Luxembourg

163 Donald Heian

164 Dr. Zareh Dervichian Geologist

165 Mary Ellen H. Schmider MN State University Moorhead, Graduate Dean Emerita  166 Tom van der Geugten VU University Amsterdam

167 Frits Zwart Nederlands Muziek Instituut

168Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy Ithaca College, Professor Emerita

169 Peter Gunther Archivist (retired)

170 Jonathan Gorman Emeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy  171 Alex Dekker Historian

172 Joanna Wojdon University of Wrocław, Poland

173 Dr. Sunday Abraham

Ogunode

174 Vassiliki Sakka Association for History Education in Greece  175 Dr. Ani Kalayjian ATOP MeaningfulWorld

176 Peter Stansky Stanford University

177 Maria Grever Erasmus University Rotterdam  178 Dmitry Dubrovskiy Charles University, Prague  179 Hans Gutbrod Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia  180 Gabriel Andreescu West University, Timișoara  181 Ezio Albrile Independent scholar

182 Anahid Samikyan

183 Melanie Keledjian Inalco, Paris

184 Stephan Fauve École normale supérieure, Paris  185 Vassilios Paipais University of St Andrews

186 Gohar Grigoryan University of Florence, University of Fribourg  187 Anton Khvostov Human rights activist, Russia  188 Adrien Palladino Masaryk University, Brno

189 Dr. Hasmik Kirakosyan Matenadaran, “Geghard”

190 Fr. Haykazun (Vahan)  Sahakyan

191 Willem Victor Sopacua

Gevorkian Theological Seminary

192 John Braithwaite Australian National University  193 Nélida Boulgourdjian University of Tres de Febrero, Argentina  194 Margarit Karapetjan Arzach.eu

195 Dr. Tamar Boyadjian Stanford University

196 Dr. Mikhail Nemtsev “Kovcheg bez granits” School  197 Prof. Simon Chu University of Hong Kong  198 Dr. Carol PattersonMartineau

199 Prof. Pierpaolo Faggi University of Padova (retired)

200 Vartouchka Samuelian INALCO, Paris

201 Rubina Peroomian, Ph.D.

202 Ara Sanjian University of Michigan-Dearborn  203 Gijs van Gaans

204 Benoît-Michel Tock Université de Strasbourg  205 Giovanni Filoramo Accademia delle Scienze, Torino

206Dr. Sanne van der  KaaijGandhi

BIS, Mumbai

207 Yulia Antonyan Yerevan State University  208 Elia Franchetto

209 Prof. Ruben Safrastyan Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA  210 Annalisa Moraschi Masaryk University, Brno  211 Rouben Galichian Cartologist, Hon. Dr., NAS Armenia  212 Prof. Lilit Meliksetyan Russian-Armenian University  213 Damien Coulon Université de Strasbourg  214 Elena Novozhilova

215 Hanno Brand Historian, Fryske Akademy, Netherlands  216 Anahit Tadevosyan Russian-Armenian University  217 Paul De Baets

218 Sona Margaryan Russian-Armenian University  219 Levon Abrahamian IAE NAS RA

220 Anna Tadevosyan Director, Producer

221 Joanna Schoehl Artist, Writer, Psychologist  222 Eberhard Schoehl Lawyer, Germany

223 Haroution Bastermaji

224 Dr. David Gaunt Södertörn University, Stockholm  225 Dr. Susan Pattie University College London  226 Levon Chilingirian Royal Academy of Music  227 Hovik Avanesov YSU, NAS RA

228 Jean Pierre Biskup Lawyer, Belgium

229 Sophie Milquet Historian, Free University of Brussels  230 Dr. Grigor Ghazaryan Yerevan State University  231 Dr. Sonya Saroyan Social Psychologist, Italy  232 Hasmik Knyazyan Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography  233 Dr. Varditer Grigoryan National Archive of Armenia  234 Prof. William Logan Deakin University, Australia  235 Nelly Serkisian Banker, France

236 Péniamin Matossian Renault (retired)

237 Alessia Boschis University of Udine

238 Dr. Eugenia Gay Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

239 Radu Mustata Hebrew University of Jerusalem  240 Lorenzo Zavattiero

241 Arthur Alfaix Assis University of Brasília

242 Rev. Vahan Ohanian Mekhitarian Congregation, Venice  243 Arusyak Tamrazyan Matenadaran

244 Prof. Victoria Arakelova Russian-Armenian University  245 Paul Gerhard Roth Social Worker, Germany

246 Karen Manukyan Office Manager, Armenia

247Hovann Simonian

248 Kéram Kévonian

249 Elly De Roo Groningen, Netherlands

250 Audrey Kichelewski Strasbourg University

251 Tosca Snijdelaar Independent researcher, Netherlands  252 Martin Harutyunyan Institute of Arts, NAS RA  253 Gabriel Kepeklian UCLouvain

254 Anne Marie Velu UCLouvain

255 Nzhdeh Yeranyan History Museum of Armenia  256 Agustí Colomines University of Barcelona

257 Marco Ruffilli Ca’ Foscari University / Unidolomiti Belluno  258 Otto Zwierlein University of Bonn (Emeritus)  259 Hratch Kestenian The Graduate Center, CUNY  260 Maati Monjib Historian, Morocco

261 Dr. Hasmik Khalapyan American University of Armenia  262 Stefan Tanaka University of California, San Diego  263 Dr. Hasmig Baran California State University, Northridge  264 Lyuba Kirakosyan National University of Architecture and YSU  265 Hamlet Petrosyan Yerevan State University

266 Nune Barsegjan Writer, Berlin

267 Koen Vangrinsven Antwerp, Belgium

268 Marc A. Mamigonian Belmont, MA, USA

269 Prof. Dr. phil. Tessa  Hofmann

270 Dr. Antranig Antoine  Agopian

Independent scholar

271 Shushan Kerovpyan Musician  272 Ani Orinakian Los Angeles, CA  273 Dr. Serge Dewel INALCO, Paris  274 Anush Sukiasyan

275 Dr. Mariam Avagyan

276 Dr. Anahit Khosroeva Harvard University

277 Ani Manukyan Independent researcher

278 Basil Lourié Scrinium, Brill

279 Heinrich Geuther German-Armenian Society  280 Nurhan Becidyan Paramus, NJ

281 Harutyun Khudanyan Institute of History, NAS RA  282 Dr. Anahit Armenakyan Nipissing University, Ontario  283 Dr. Gohar Iskandaryan Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA  284 Prof. Dr. Aram Kosyan Dept. of Ancient Orient, NAS RA  285 Dr. Levon Hovsepyan Dept. of Turkish Studies, NAS RA  286 Sona Vardanyan Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA  287Dr. Araks Pashayan Dept. of International Relations, NAS RA  288 Hrachuhi Turvandyan Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA  289 Grigor Vardanyan Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA  290 Mariam Khanzadyan Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA  291 Roman Nuriev PhD Student, Lithuanian Language Institute  292 Agnes Pahle Philologist, Germany

293 Hasmik Karapetyan Trinity College, Dublin

294 Robert Tatoyan Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute  295 Nellie Malkhassian Company CEO

296 Norig B. Karakashian

297 Dr. Ani Margaryan Soochow University, China  298 Minas Lourian Centro Studi della Cultura Armena, Venice  299 Ruslan Tsakanyan Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA  300 Dr. Olga Mitrenina St. Petersburg State University

301 Dr. Marjan de  GrootReuvekamp

Dutch History Teachers Association

302 Dr. Marja van Tilburg Groningen University (retired)