In February 2025, photographs circulating online revealed that the Azerbaijani side had damaged the tabernacle of Tsitsernavank (https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=8874635125968971&id=100002677162871&rdid=MCJXiOTtFUXxe29E#). The images show that the holy table and the cross within the tabernacle were broken (Figs. 1 and 2).

It is also worth noting that as early as 2023, the Tsitsernavank temple was desecrated and damaged. For example, representatives of the “Albanian-Udi” community of Azerbaijan desecrated and destroyed the unique crypt of the Armenian church of Tsitsernavank in the Kashatagh region of Artsakh.

Since December 2020, when the Kashatagh region of the Republic of Artsakh came under Azerbaijani control, the Tsitsernavank temple has become one of the propaganda targets of the Albanian-Udi community of Azerbaijan. Despite this, the temple continues to be periodically desecrated.

Our response

The ongoing damage to Tsitsernavank underscores its deliberate nature. Resolution 2582, "On the Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh," adopted by the European Parliament in 2022, obligates Azerbaijan to refrain from interfering with Armenian heritage areas, ensuring the preservation of their authenticity and mandating that any restoration work strictly adheres to this principle (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A52022IP0080).

Moreover, the desecration of the church violates the criteria for cultural significance established by the 1999 Burra Charter (Australia, ICOMOS) (https://www.icomosubih.ba/pdf/medjunaradni_dokumenti/1999%20Povelja%20iz%20Burre%20o%20mjestima%20od%20kulturnog%20znacenja.pdf).  In this context, it is essential to note that preserving the historical value of heritage means maintaining the integrity of its historical evidence (Burre Charter, Article 2.3). As further stated in the 2013 Burra Charter (p. 14), "Any intervention with a heritage that results in the loss of one or more elements of cultural significance—whether in historical, aesthetic, spiritual, or social terms—deprives the heritage of its historical significance by effectively destroying it."

The desecration and damage inflicted upon the church fundamentally undermine the structure's integrity. As confirmed at the 36th UNESCO Expert Meeting, "integrity is the capacity of heritage to ensure and maintain its significance over time." According to this principle, conservation primarily entails preserving the elements that convey the heritage's values while duly considering both the individual components and their relationships within the whole. Moreover, addressing the detrimental impact of human activity, the Operational Guidelines state: "To preserve integrity, all the features of the heritage must be intact" (Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, UNESCO, Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, WHC. 11/01 November 2011, paragraph 92).