Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian is Associate Faculty Member at Oxford University's Faculty of Oriental Studies. During his lecture at the Yerevan State University he spoke about the global humanitarian challenges and their reflection in the Middle East. The lecture was entitled "Wars, religious extremism and future challenges facing Eastern Christianity in the Middle East."
Dr. Tchilingirian introduced the background of the modern conflicts in the Middle East and drew attention to the critical situation of the Christian communities in the region, who continue to face many challenges.
“The roots of the current conflicts have deep roots in history, especially in the World War I period and its aftermath, when state boundaries were redrawn and new states created. Like other segments of society, Christian communities, whose roots go back to the early centuries of Christianity in the Middle East, have been subjected to genocides, dispossession, waves of displacement and migration. Even as they have rebuilt their communities and created institutions over the last century, today they face enormous security and socio-economic challenges, which threaten the long-term viability of their existence in the region.”
