Religion and the Ethics of Peacemaking: international online conference at YSU

The conference aimed to emphasize the role of religions from the point of view of ethics of peacemaking, to contribute to raising awareness of recent events that occurred in Artsakh on international platforms, as well as to discuss issues related to the field from a professional point of view and to point out solutions.

The conference, organized by the initiative of the YSU Faculty of Theology, took place within the framework of cooperation with the Research Center for Intercultural and Religious Studies of the faculty (Armenia), the Ecumenical Institute of the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Münster (Germany) and the News Service of the Eastern Churches (Switzerland).

During the conference, specialists in the field presented reports, discussing the tragic events that took place in Artsakh recently from a historical perspective (Ashot Hayruni, YSU). The consequences of the systematic de-Armenization of Artsakh (Harutyun Harutyunyan, YSU/AUA) and the threats to the Armenian cultural heritage of Artsakh, which is extremely rich and has a documented history of more than two millennia (Dagmar Heller, Bensheim Interchurch Institute) were discussed.  

Referring to the selection of the title of international conference and the fact that foreign partners are interested in the topic, Harutyun Harutyunyan, Lecturer at the Faculty of Theology and Researcher of the Research Center for Intercultural and Religious Studies, emphasized the importance of raising the problems of Artsakh Armenians, noting that there is a need to cover the topic, because many people talked about the events for some time in the beginning, after which the topic was forgotten.

H. Harutyunyan, highlighting the relevance of the topics (fate of Artsakh Armenians, adaptation, community preservation issues), stated that the results of the conference will be disseminated on various international platforms.

Due to the international conference, the professional group united on one platform, created new ways of continuous cooperation.