Christian community in Azerbaijan honors memory of Baku-Grozny plane crash victims

By Laman Ismayilova

A memorial evening titled "G?lin s?cd? edin" has been held at Chamber and Organ Music Hall, Azernews reports. The event was organized by the Christian religious community Vineyard Azerbaijan in memory of the victims of the Baku-Grozny plane crash.

A moment of silence was observed at the opening to honor those who lost their lives in the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

Assistant pastor of Vineyard Azerbaijan Kamil Karimli called on everyone present to pray for the souls of the deceased.

"December 25 is celebrated as Christmas, and we traditionally wanted to hold this event with our community, but due to the tragic events, we changed our program. Azerbaijan has been an example of tolerance and multiculturalism for centuries, where, regardless of nationality and religion, everyone lives as one family, in peace and safety, in an atmosphere of interfaith harmony. As one family, we come together both in joy and sorrow, expressing our condolences to the entire Azerbaijani nation and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. Among the deceased were our Christian brothers - Igor Kshnyakin and Alexander Kalyanov, heroic pilots who sacrificed their lives to save nearly half of the passengers aboard the aircraft. Christmas has always been a symbol of compassion and mercy, propagating the ideas of humanism, and on this day we mourn together with everyone," Senior Pastor of Vineyard Azerbaijan Emil Panahov said.

Chairman of the Azerbaijan Bible Society Rasim Khalilov highlighted that Azerbaijan is home to over 100 nationalities, peoples, and ethnic groups, which embody rich culture and spirituality, and that our strength lies in this unity.

"The state policy of multiculturalism and tolerance serves as an example for the whole world. Recently, a Forum of Religious Leaders of Azerbaijan was held, featuring more than 100 religious leaders from various faiths across many regions of the country. Prior to that, a Global Baku Summit of Religious Leaders took place within the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), with representatives from 55 countries. All this speaks to the uniqueness of our country, where everyone is like one family, and today each of us honors the memory of those who perished in the plane crash. We have always been and will always be together!" he said.

Religious chants were performed in the evening.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, Milli.Az.