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As Australians honour the ANZACs each April, this piece calls for remembering another World War I-era tragedy — the Armenian Genocide — and the Christian duty to remember all who suffer.

Every year, Australians gather at dawn services across the nation to remember the sacrifice of the ANZACs. We stand in silence as bugles sound, wreaths are laid, and stories of courage and loss are retold once more. It is one of the few moments in modern Australian life where the nation pauses collectively to reflect on suffering, sacrifice, and memory. And rightly so. Nations that forget sacrifice often lose part of their moral foundation.

Yet while Australians remember the tragedies of Gallipoli and the horrors of the First World War, another catastrophe unfolding during that same period remains far less understood within the modern Western world: the destruction of Armenian Christians within the collapsing Ottoman Empire in 1915.

The Armenian Genocide remains one of the most overlooked tragedies of the twentieth century. Historians estimate up to 1.2 million Armenian Christians perished through mass deportations, starvation, executions, forced marches, and systematic violence carried out during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Entire villages disappeared. Families were torn apart. Ancient churches and monasteries that had stood for centuries were emptied or destroyed.

The First Christian Nation

Armenia itself held a unique place within Christian history, becoming the first nation in the world to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion in the early fourth century. Long before much of Europe became Christian, Armenian believers had already built a civilisation deeply shaped by faith. Yet during the chaos and nationalism surrounding the First World War, these Christian communities faced devastation on a horrifying scale.

For many people today, the Armenian Genocide occupies only a small space within public historical consciousness. Unlike other defining tragedies of the twentieth century, it is rarely discussed in depth within popular culture, media, or education. Political sensitivities surrounding international recognition have also contributed to the tragedy fading from broader public discussion.

Yet beyond debates over terminology and diplomacy lies a simple human reality: over a million Christians were killed, ancient communities were uprooted, and countless people suffered because of their identity, ethnicity, and faith.

History often remembers wars through borders, treaties, and military campaigns, but behind every historical event are ordinary human beings — mothers, fathers, children, priests, families — whose suffering can slowly disappear into silence as generations pass.

“The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart.”
— Isaiah 57:1

For Christians, remembrance is not merely political; it is spiritual. Scripture repeatedly calls believers to remember those who suffer and to remain conscious of persecution experienced by others across the body of Christ.

The Armenian Genocide, therefore, carries significance beyond history alone. It forms part of the long and painful story of Christian persecution that stretches across centuries and continents. In remembering the Armenian Christians of 1915, believers are reminded that faith has often survived not through comfort or political power, but through endurance amidst suffering and hardship.

The story of Armenia also serves as a warning about how easily civilisations can lose their moral bearings during periods of instability, fear, and extreme nationalism. The Ottoman Empire was not uniquely evil in human history; rather, the tragedy reflects a darker truth about humanity itself.

Throughout history, societies under pressure have often searched for scapegoats, enemies, and groups to blame for political decline or national insecurity. Once human beings are stripped of dignity and viewed as obstacles rather than neighbours, cruelty becomes easier to justify. The twentieth century repeatedly demonstrated how quickly modern societies could descend into mass violence when fear and ideology overcame moral restraint.

Remembrance as a Spiritual Duty

Remembering the Armenian Christians of 1915 should not be about fuelling hatred toward modern nations or peoples, nor should remembrance become an exercise in political tribalism. Rather, remembrance should cultivate humility, compassion, and historical awareness.

A healthy civilisation remembers not only its victories and heroes, but also the suffering that shaped humanity’s moral conscience. Australians rightly honour the ANZAC tradition because remembrance carries meaning. Yet perhaps remembrance should also extend beyond our own national story toward those tragedies the modern world no longer speaks about often.

The forgotten Christians of 1915 may be distant from modern Australia geographically, but the moral lesson remains close to home. Civilisations preserve part of their humanity through memory. And perhaps one measure of a compassionate society is whether it is willing to remember even the suffering that history has allowed to fade into silence.

“Remember those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
— Hebrews 13:3

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Republished with thanks to the Young Conservatives for Christ Substack. Featured image courtesy of Adobe.