24 April 2015 Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

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23 April 2015
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

In honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Church, on Thursday 23 April 2015, conferred sainthood on about 1.5 million Armenians massacred by Ottoman forces a century ago, in what is believed to be the biggest canonization service in history. The ceremony outside Armenia's main cathedral, Echmiadzin, close to the capital Yerevan, ended at 7:15 pm local time, or 19:15 according to the 24-hour clock, to symbolize the year when the massacres started during World War I. The church says the aim of the ceremony was to proclaim the martyrdom of those killed for their faith and homeland. After the ceremony, bells tolled in Armenian churches around the world followed by a minute of silence. On Friday, commemorations will mark the 100th anniversary of the killings.

The Armenian Apostolic Church of Iran has been a member of the Christian Conference of Asia for the past 5 years. It is with solidarity that we stand with them in sorrow and comfort, in hope and faith, courage and strength, at this moment in history.

Background

Beginning in April 1915, more than one million Armenians were killed by troops of the Ottoman Empire, with its capital in what is now Turkey. The Armenian Genocide came after decades of discrimination and massacres against Armenians and other minorities under Ottoman rule. The systematic massacres and deportations of Armenians from their historic homelands began on 24th April 1915, by order of the Ottoman Empire. Hundreds of Armenian public figures – intellectuals, politicians, clergymen, educators, artists – were arrested and summarily executed in the capital Constantinople (Istanbul) or sent into exile. Throughout World War I and in the months that followed the massacre of Armenian Christians occurred in two phases, the first of which involved the forced labor and killing of Armenia's able bodied male population, followed by the second phase involving the deportation of women, children and the infirm on death marches into the Syrian desert - without food or water or shelter. The Genocide intended to establish an ethnically pure, national Turkish state, by removing the two million Armenians who had held ancestral homes and lands for centuries.

The Armenian people were dispossessed of countless generations of cultural heritage. But they survived. They formed organized communities all over the world. They maintain a state today, and they continue to commemorate the experience of their ancestors. Leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church marked the 99th anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide with calls for recognition of that historic event.

We the members of the Christian Conference of Asia, share the sorrow and pain of our brothers and sisters of the Armenian Church. We revere the memories of their past and share their anguish at the inhuman treatment that was meted out to their ancestors.

While we commemorate the genocide and understand it as a fascist attitude that resulted in deliberate ethnic cleansing and the destruction of an ancient civilization and culture, let us also remember with pride that the presence of the Armenian people in the world is a constant reminder of the tremendous resilience and strength that people of faith have. Their life saga of courage, faith and hope, kept alive by paintings and books and other souvenirs, offer strength and comfort to the millions who now suffer similar atrocities of victimization and war.

We bring our prayers and solidarity to them as they remember this poignant period in history. We also recognize the powerful message that this commemoration will provide to churches and ecumenical organizations all over the world, which is, to pray for peace and to reiterate that war and hatred do not augur well for humankind.

Let us unite in prayers with love, compassion and solidarity.

Photo: Canonization Ceremony in Armenia's main cathedral, Echmiadzin

Photo Source: Internet