Recognising the massacre of Armenians as genocide helps renew commitment to combating atrocities, says CCA General Secretary

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).

No preference updated.

28 April 2021
Remembering the martyrs of the Armenian genocide during a Holy Eucharistic service held at the Cathedral of Armenian Church Catholicosate of Cilicia, which was organised in conjunction with the CCA Executive Committee meeting in Antelias, Lebanon in 2018 (File photo)

CHIANG MAI: The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) joins with millions of Armenians all over the world, especially the Armenian diaspora scattered across Asia, who welcomed the US government’s decision to recognise the massacre of about 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 as genocide.

The Armenian churches uniquely represent the Armenian people in the international ecumenical family and have been expressing their concerns, anguish, and pain consistently; they have persistently been demanding recognition of genocide and reparation.

The CCA member churches include the Armenian diaspora churches spread across different parts of Asia such as in Iran, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Japan.

The General Secretary of the CCA Dr Mathews George Chunakara stated that although late, the decision of the President of the USA now recognising the massacre that took place more than a century ago as genocide is an honour for those Armenians who perished in the Armenian genocide.

“President Biden’s decision is a good gesture of reminder to the international community about the pain of millions of Armenian descendants around the world. The Armenian Genocide has serious implications for the Armenian people and the international community ever since the massacre took place. It is also a great opportunity for the international community to renew their commitment to combating atrocities in this troubled world, as well as to work for healing and reconciliation,” said the CCA General Secretary.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara further added that the Armenian Church, consistent with its role in the Armenian communities across the world, is the natural vehicle and interpreter of the Armenian protest against the 1915 genocide and of the Armenian demand for justice. However, the history and plight of the Armenians were not known widely among the churches in different regions including in Asia. The decision of the US authorities now will be helpful in prompting the international community and Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.

It is widely believed that around 1.5 million Armenian Christians were killed during massacres and deportation campaigns carried out against the Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. The leaders of Turkey, the modern-day successor of the Ottoman Empire, have maintained the position that the massacre and persecution that took place did not possess the scale or magnitude that could justify the use of the term genocide as claimed by Armenians.

In Antelias, Lebanon, on the occasion of the Remembrance Day of Armenian Genocide on 24 April 2021, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I pointed out that the genocide which was planned and executed by the Ottoman Turkish Empire was an inseparable and undeniable part of history.

“It is a legal demand according to the international law which clearly displays the right of a people who are a victim of genocide. The struggle for justice is sacred, because justice is a God-given reality and its violation is a sin against God. Our claim is deeply rooted in the common consciousness of our nation because the intention of those who perpetrated genocide against Armenians was to annihilate a whole nation,” emphasised Aram I.

Turkey opposes the use of the term genocide. Article 301 of Turkey’s penal code criminalises anyone who uses the term genocide, charging them with the crime of “insulting Turkishness”.