Armenian outrage at Russian Church award for Azeri First Lady

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said Patriarch Kirill’s decision was ‘a near-hostile, public estrangement from the Armenian Apostolic Church’.

The Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem issued a condemnation after Patriarch Kirill of Moscow awarded Azerbaijan’s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva with the Russian Orthodox Church’s “Saint Princess Olga Order, First Degree” during a visit to Baku.

Kirill made the award to Mehriban Aliyeva, who is also the first vice-president of Azerbaijan, for “her contributions to the preservation of traditional values” and the “promotion of intercultural and interfaith dialogue”.

In its response, the Armenian Patriarchate said Patriarch Kirill’s decision was “a near-hostile, public estrangement from the Armenian Apostolic Church”.

“We strongly condemn Patriarch Kirill’s decision in bestowing this honour and believe it is a stark departure from the Russian Orthodox Church’s historical principles. His actions suggest an alignment with those who carelessly practice cultural and religious erasure on the international stage,” it said.

Although for many years Armenia considered Russia its patron, shifting diplomacy in the South Caucasus has seen relations deteriorate, primarily due to its conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine occupied Moscow\s military attention, Azerbaijan launched a renewed campaign to reclaim the region in 2023, causing more than 100,000 people flee the territory.

Armenia’s government warned of ethnic cleansing and of the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage including churches.  In 2024, the Caucasus Heritage Watch at Cornell University reported on the demolition of ten heritage sites since 2020 in the retaken territory by Azerbaijan.

In its statement, the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem stated that “several churches in Shushi and elsewhere [in Nagorno-Karabakh] have been destroyed or repurposed into mosques, erasing centuries of Armenian presence”.

Last month, a conference called “Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modernity”, organised with the support of the Azerbaijani government at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, faced widespread condemnation from Armenian church leaders and scholars.

More than 300 academics and members of civil society signed a statement criticising the Vatican for hosting the conference, calling it an attempt at revisionism under its patronage. The Gregorian University denied the claims.

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