Azerbaijan's Consul General Claims Country Became Christian State in 313 in Los Angeles

In Los Angeles, Azerbaijan's Consul General Nasimi Aghayev made a Twitter post in honor of Christmas, asserting that Azerbaijan has an "ancient Christian heritage."

“On this Christmas day, let us look at these beautiful images of ancient Azerbaijani Christian heritage. Christianity arrived in Azerbaijan in the 1st century, becoming the state religion in 313. Today, hundreds of thousands of Christians live peacefully and freely profess their faith in Azerbaijan,” he wrote, sharing photographs of ancient Armenian churches located in Artsakh.

The Armenian National Committee of America responded, stating: “This false tweet claims the existence of ‘Azerbaijani Christian churches’ and that Azerbaijan became a Christian state in 313.”

Aghayev’s collage included images of the 9th-century Armenian Dadivank monastery (transitioned under Azerbaijani control after the 44-day war), the 10th-century Armenian Gandzasar monastery (located in the Martakert region of Nagorno-Karabakh), the early medieval Armenian Tsitsernavank in the Kashatagh region (also passed to Azerbaijani control following the conflict), and the 12th-century St. Yeghishe church in the village of Kish.