Biodiversity COP17: Catholicos receives WCC, ecumenical prayer follows

Biodiversity COP17: Catholicos receives WCC, ecumenical prayer follows

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Wed, 10/28/2026 - 14:19

On 25 October, churches in Armenia met the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) with an encounter and a prayer. At the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, received the World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation. In the evening, the WCC led an ecumenical prayer at St Anna Church in Yerevan.

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Ecumenical prayer service at St Anna Church in Yerevan, Armenia.

Photo: Louk Adrian's/WCC

At Etchmiadzin, the delegation attended the Divine Liturgy. Karekin II said God entrusts people with responsibility for nature, shown through constant care. Environmental work, he said, must come with stronger spiritual and moral values, so that human knowledge serves the care of nature for present and future generations.

Delegation members thanked him and spoke about climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Because the crisis has spiritual and moral roots, they said, churches must act together.

Later, back in Yerevan, the delegation gathered at St Anna…