Over 350 Scholars Worldwide Condemn Vatican’s Complicity in Azerbaijan’s Erasure of Armenian Church Heritage

More than 300 scholars and professionals from around the world have signed a statement condemning the Vatican’s complicity in legitimizing Azerbaijan’s cultural erasure of Armenian Church history and heritage. The statement follows the April 10, 2025, conference titled “Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modernity” held at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. The signatories demand accountability and call for Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Fr. Mark Lewis, and Bishop Vladimir Fekete to be declared personae non gratae by Armenian churches, communities, and institutions worldwide.