Prayer Service at Oxford Highlights Armenian Christian Witness, Culture, and Unity

An ecumenical prayer service at Blackfriars, University of Oxford, has highlighted the enduring spiritual, cultural, and historical witness of Armenian Christianity during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The gathering brought together Dominican Friars and clergy,  theologians, scholars, and members of different Christian traditions for prayer and reflection, focusing on faith, suffering, and hope within the life of the Armenian Church.

The prayer service was led by Fr Dominic White O.P., Prior of the Dominican community at Blackfriars. Following the short service, Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland, delivered a lecture on the significance of Armenian Christianity for the life of the contemporary Church.

In his address, Bishop Manukyan spoke of Christianity in Armenia as a faith inseparable from culture and history. “For Armenians, faith is not an abstract idea,” he said. “It is written into our history, our language, our music, and our prayer.”

Bishop Manukyan reflected on Armenia’s early adoption of Christianity in the fourth century and on how faith shaped Armenian identity through worship, education, and art. “Theology in the Armenian tradition is not confined to books,” the Bishop noted. “It is sung in our hymns, carved in stone, and lived through the liturgy.”

Referring to centuries of persecution, genocide, and displacement, Bishop Manukyan said the Armenian Church’s story was one of survival rather than defeat. “Suffering did not erase faith,” he said. “It purified it, strengthened it, and made it something to be shared rather than imposed.”

He also linked this experience to the theme of Christian unity, stressing that unity grows through shared faithfulness rather than institutional power. “True unity is not created by structures alone,” he said. “It is born in prayer, sustained by memory, and revealed in faithfulness to Christ.”

The evening concluded with a concert of Armenian sacred music, continuing the prayerful atmosphere of the gathering. Led by soprano Hasmik Harutyunyan, the programme included hymns from the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church alongside medieval Armenian chants, including Havoun Havoun, Bats Mez Der and the Epiphany hymn Zarmanali. The music illustrated how Armenian theology and history are preserved through living tradition.

The prayer service and gathering formed part of a wider programme of ecumenical events taking place across the United Kingdom during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, underlining the role of prayer, culture, and shared memory in strengthening bonds between Christian communities.