JD Vance dropped extremely powerful words while visiting Armenia as part of a U.S. delegation, calling Christian civilization important not just for the West but the entire world. Incredibly, his visit to the beleaguered Christian nation marks the first time in American history that either a sitting president or vice president has made the sojourn.
For context, the Trump administration once again helped broker a historic peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, two nations that have been at odds for longer than Vice President Vance has been alive. Vance made the visit on the heels of a negotiated compromise and in the hopes of furthering a peace deal and opening up new trading opportunities in the region.
Armenia is also home to an often-forgotten community of Christians. While Muslim Palestinians get world news and attention nearly every day, the displacement and attacks on Christians by neighboring Azerbaijan, and historically the Ottoman Empire, goes largely unnoticed by mainstream media and political punditry. Armenia is often cited as the world’s oldest Christian nation, adopting it as the state religion in 301 after being founded by St. Gregory the Illuminator.
It was with this background knowledge that Vance offered his prepared remarks about the importance of Christianity being preserved. “This is one of the oldest Christian countries in the entire world, the true bedrock of Christian civilization and culture,” he stated during a speech alongside Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“As a devout Christian myself, I know the meaning of this country to the entire world and to the religion that the Prime Minister and I share. So to the people of Armenia and the great Prime Minister, I want to thank you for your partnership. President Trump is committed to this partnership, and so am I, and we’re thrilled to be here to take the next step. God bless you,” he added.
Watch Vance comment on the importance of Christianity below:
During the same state trip abroad, Vance also commented on the historic nature of the country while remarking on the friendliness of the region and his own connection to it as a practicing Christian.
“Let me say first that the president sends his best to you personally, but also the people of Armenia, the Prime Minister has been a great friend of ours and a real ally in peace and development in this region of the world.”
“So we’re very grateful for the friendship and for the partnership. I know there’s a lot to discuss a lot, but we’re going to be announcing, I believe, at the next press event that we do. So I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Let me just say, this is a beautiful country.”
“I feel incredibly grateful to be here. I’m thankful for the personal welcome, not just to me personally, but also to my family. This is, of course, one of the oldest Christian cultures in the entire world, and so I feel a great amount of affinities to the people of Armenia, but also to you and to your administration. I think that we really do have an opportunity not just to create a historic peace that can last, as you said, one that could reach the point of no return.”