WASHINGTON—The Philos Project on Friday concluded a three-day trip that introduced American Christian and Jewish thought leaders to Armenia’s rich history and the existential threats that face this Christian country from its neighbors. The trip, which comes nearly six months after Azerbaijan initiated a blockade of Armenian Christians in the adjacent Nagorno-Karabakh region was led by Philos Project President Robert Nicholson and former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.
Participants included leaders of Christian advocacy groups, like David Curry, President and CEO of Global Christian Relief; Carlos Duran, Founder and President of the National Association of Hispanic Pastors of America; Travis Weber, Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs at Family Research Council; and Denise Bubeck, Deputy Director of the Church Ambassador Network at “The Family Leader,” among others. They were joined by Jewish leaders and experts from several think tanks, including Michael Ruben, Greg Schaller, and Gregg Roman, as well as journalists from both secular and religious publications.
Participants of the Philos Project’s Armenia trip touring a historic church
Since December 12, Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor has cut the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, largely Armenian Christians, off from the outside world. The siege has created a humanitarian disaster that may soon become untenable for the 120,000 residents, precipitating what some have warned may be a Second Armenian Genocide. Constant, aggressive rhetoric from Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev, a self-proclaimed ally of the United States, seems to lend credence to such warnings.
That same month Nicholson began examining the challenges Armenians face in an in-depth series on his podcast, The Deep Map. In January he stepped up his advocacy, sending a letter to President Biden urging his administration to help lift the blockade, provide humanitarian aid, and work toward a lasting and just resolution of the long-standing dispute. In May, he appealed to the House Committee for Foreign Affairs, yet the blockade remains.
Nicholson and Brownback co-led this trip to help American thought leaders better understand the crisis in the region and consider how Christian and Jewish communities might contribute to potential solutions. Participants visited medieval monasteries, conversed with local residents affected by Azerbaijani aggression in the city of Jermuk, and met with Armenia’s President, Vahagn Khachaturyan. In a video statement, Ambassador Brownback expressed his gratitude to the president for spending “a huge amount of time” with the delegation discussing the “breadth of the issues,” confiding that “central to all of this is the building of the relationship” between Armenia and American Christians that so far “hasn’t been fully actualized.”
“We cannot allow the crisis in Armenia to be dismissed as a simple territorial dispute,” said Philos Project Founder Robert Nicholson. “This is a dispute about values.”
“Advocates for human rights, Christians concerned about preserving their historic roots, and Jews who know all too well the struggle against genocidal forces, all have a stake in advocating for Armenia’s Christians,” Nicholson added.