This week on The Open Door (March 22, 2023), panelists Jim Hanink and Mario Ramos-Reyes discuss the Christians in Need Foundation (CINF). Its mission is to preserve ancient Christian traditions so that they may continue to inform the communities to which they belong, especially in the Middle East and Caucasus. Its special focus is the Armenians in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh that lies within Azerbaijan. CINF also fosters ethical analysis for the young here at home. Without the capacity for ethical reasoning, we in the United States will not be able to understand the challenges that our fellow Christians face internationally. Our special guest is Rita Mahdessian. She is a member of CINF’s Board of Directors.

Mahdessian has a background in legal practice and business. She holds an L.L.B. (Hons) from the University of Reading Berkshire, UK and an M.A. in Business Law from the City of London University. She works closely with CINF cofounder Siobhan Nash-Marshall and Stephanie Havens, its CEO. Among the questions we’ll ask are the following. Please feel free to add your own!

1. Rita, if we may, could you first tell us a bit about yourself? How does a lawyer in Glendale, California become an advocate for Christian communities in Armenia?
2. What led to the birth of the Christians in Need Foundation and how has it developed?
3. The Armenian author Antonia Arslan is the President of CINF. Could you help our audience understand her cultural importance?
4. How would you describe the current political standoff between Armenia and Azerbaijan? Is there any way to get beyond the current impasse?
5. CINF has initiated a wide range of projects in Artsakh, including a fashion show. Could you highlight some of these programs?
6. In following events in the Middle East and the Caucasus, we need to do more than “keep the players” straight. What are some of the main legal and ethical issues that we should be thinking about in those regions?
7. CINF believes that ethical reasoning should be part of today’s high school curriculum. How does its debate events contribute to realizing this objective?
8. You have argued that the deliberate denial of genocide is a form of aggression that ought to be regarded as a contribution to genocidal violence in its own right. Why do you take this to be true? Can you give us an example of such aggression?
9. Given the history of the Armenian genocide and the diaspora of the Armenian people, what concrete steps can Christians to love their historical and political enemies?
10. Where do you see CINF ten years from now? Where do you see your own role in its mission?