The Holy Mother of God Cathedral in occupied Stepanakert has been destroyed by the Azerbaijani regime, according to the Artsakh Culture and Tourism Development Agency, on the eve of the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Constructed between 2000 and 2019, the cathedral was the city’s central church of the Armenian Apostolic tradition and a symbol of revived religious life after decades of Soviet suppression.
It followed an earlier church dating back to the late 19th century that was shut down during the Soviet period, restoring a presence that had been deliberately erased.
More than a place of worship, the cathedral stood as a visible expression of Armenian historical and cultural continuity in Artsakh. During the blockade, it also became a key gathering point, one of the few remaining spaces for communal and spiritual life under siege.
Artsakh’s cultural authority said the destruction is part of a broader, systematic effort to eliminate Armenian cultural presence, describing it as a deliberate act of erasure targeting identity, heritage, and continuity.
It also condemned the lack of response from Armenia’s authorities and the absence of meaningful international reaction, warning that silence only deepens a sense of impunity and further undermines the prospects for the return of displaced Armenians by severing their ties to their homeland.
