• am
  • ru
  • en
print version
24.10.2012

THE ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL COMMUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

EnglishРуский

   

An attempt to assess potential

Vahram Hovyan
Expert, Center for the Armenian Studies, “Noravank” Foundation

Currently there are Armenian Evangelical communities in 6 countries in the Middle East – in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Egypt1. Besides the fact that the Armenian Evangelical communities are an integral part of the Armenian communities in general and their study is of great importance for forming complete idea of the Armenian Diaspora, the study of the Armenian Evangelical communities in the Middle East is also important due to the following reasons:

  • The Middle East is a volatile region. Through a contemporary history internal and external wars accompanied the countries of this region – Arab-Israeli confrontation, civil war in Lebanon (1975-90), Iraqi-Iranian war, Gulf war (1991), Iraqi war in 2003, “Arab spring” (2011), etc. These events have a direct impact on the local Armenian communities, including Evangelical ones.
  • The Middle East is in immediate geographic proximity of Armenia and two of the aforementioned countries – Turkey and Iran – are contiguous with Armenia. Correspondingly, events proceeding in this region directly or indirectly influence not only local Armenian communities but they have impact on Armenia either. And the Armenian Evangelical communities are a certain factor of not only separate countries’ policy but also of regional policy in general and its correct and proper use can be rather efficient.

For the efficient and proper use of the potential of the Armenian Evangelical communities it is necessary to assess it and this assessment has been implemented by the following methodology. Two criteria are distinguished – human and organizational. This two criteria in their turn fall into sub-criteria. On the bases of these sub-criteria the Armenian Evangelical communities in the Middle East have been divided into three groups – with big, medium and small potential2. Every sub-criterion has its standards.

Human criterion

1. Size. While considering communities in accordance with this sub-criterion, the communities which size goes beyond 2000 people were considered to be communities with big potential. The communities which size was 1000-2000 people were considered to be with medium potential and finally communities which size does not exceed 1000 people were considered to be with small potential.

Correspondingly, the Armenian Evangelical communities in Lebanon, Syria and Turkey are considered to be communities with big potential. The number of the Armenians in Lebanon and Syria is 4-5 thousand people.

In the aspect of size Turkey where contradicting processes are proceeding is remarkable. On the one hand the atmosphere of religious and national intolerance brings to their shrinking. According to some sources number of the Armenian Evangelicals in Turkey today is about 500 people3. On the other hand Christian missionary activities have gained ground in Turkey recently. As a result the process of Christianization is taking place. In consequence of the activity of German and other missionary organizations in Turkey Protestantism is also gaining ground and the generations of Islamized Armenians are also involved in this process. Thus, according to the Turkish Protestant organizations, among the Protestants of Adana there are many people of the Armenian descent4. And re-conversion (to Protestantism) among the descendants of the Islamized Armenians is also accompanied by the revival of their national consciousness. Thus, though on the one hand the number of the Armenian Evangelicals in Turkey shrinks due to the national and religious persecutions, on the other hand missionary activity which has gained ground causes the growth of the number of the Armenian Evangelicals in Turkey. It is difficult to distinguish the number of the generations of the Islamized Armenians who converted to Protestantism as they constitute heterogeneous human society. This hampers estimation of the number of the Armenian Evangelicals in Turkey. Nevertheless, taking into consideration the process of conversion of a great number of Islamized Armenians into Protestantism one can assume that the total number of the Armenian Evangelicals in Turkey goes beyond two thousand.

The Armenian Evangelical community in Iran, which size, by our estimations, is about 1-2 thousand people, according to this sub-criterion, is considered to be community with medium potential and Armenian Evangelical communities in Egypt and Iraq, the sizes of which are less than 1000 people, are the communities with small potential.

2. Dispersion. According to this sub-criterion, the communities which are represented in more than two regions of the country are considered to have big potential. The communities which are spread across two regions are considered to be with medium potential and the communities centered in one place are considered to be with small potential.

The observations prove that the Armenian Evangelical communities in Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Iran are communities with big potential. They are spread over the regions populated by the Armenians. In Lebanon the Armenian Evangelicals live in Beirut, Burj Hammoud, Achrafieh, Anjar, etc. In Syria they mainly live in Aleppo, but there are Armenian Evangelical communities in Kessab, Damascus and Homs as well.

According to this sub-criterion Turkey is also unique. There are 500 Armenian Evangelicals in Istanbul and the descendants of the Islamized Armenians who converted to Protestantism are mainly spread over various districts of Western Armenia and Cilicia. There are such groups in, e.g., Malatya (Western Armenia), Adana (Cilicia). etc.

The Armenian Evangelicals in Iran mainly live in Tehran, New Jugha, Tabriz, Aral, Hamadan5. Nevertheless, most of them live in Tehran6.

The Armenian Evangelical communities in Egypt and Iraq can even be called, correspondingly the Armenian Evangelical community in Alexandria and Armenian Evangelical community in Baghdad, as there are no Armenian Evangelicals in other cities and population centers of those countries. This allows considering them communities with small potential.

Organizational criterion

The following four sub-criteria can be distinguished:

1. Quantity. According to this sub-criterion the communities which have more than 10 organizational structures are considered to be with big potential. If the number of the organizations vary from 5 to 10, this community is considered to be with medium potential and those which have less than 5 organizations – with small potential.

From the perspective of this sub-criterion Armenian Evangelical communities in Lebanon and Syria, which correspondingly have 24 and 287 organizations, are considered to have big potential.

They are followed by the Armenian Evangelical community in Iran, which has 7 organizations8, thus being classified as a community with medium potential.

The atmosphere of national and religious intolerance and persecutions in Turkey has affected not only the number of the Armenian Evangelicals but also their organizations. As a result instead of great number of churches and rich property (schools, nurseries, etc.) which they possessed long ago, today there are only two organizations in Turkey – the Armenian Evangelical churches in Gedikpasa and Beiogli quarters of Istanbul9.

As for the Armenian Evangelical churches in Egypt and Iraq, there is only one organizational structure – Armenian Evangelical Church in Alexandria in Egypt and two organizations – Armenian Evangelical church and Armenian Evangelical radio broadcast in Bagdad in Iraq. Thus, according to their organizational sub-criterion, the Armenian Evangelical communities in Turkey, Egypt and Iraq are assessed as communities with small potential.

2. Diversity. Following this sub-criterion, the communities which have more than two types of organizations are considered to have big potential. Communities which have two types of organizations are considered to be the ones with medium potential and those with one type of organizations – communities with small potential.

Correspondingly, the Armenian Eangelical communities in Lebanon, Syria and Iran, which has 4-5 types of organizations – managing, church, educational, and social and information ones10, are considered to be communities with big potential. It is remarkable that the Armenian Evangelical community in Iran, though being inferior to the Lebanese and Syrian communities in the aspect of number of organizational structures, is being equated with them in the aspect of the variety.

According to this sub-criterion, the Armenian Evangelical community in Iraq, having two types of structures – church (Armenian Evangelical Church in Baghdad) and information (Armenian Evangelical radio broadcast in Baghdad), is considered to be a community with medium potential.

And Armenian Evangelical communities in Turkey and Egypt which have only one type of organizations (church) are assessed as the communities with small potential.

3. Dispersion. Considering the issue from the perspective of this sub-criterion, the communities which organizations are spread over more than two population centers of the country are considered to have big potential. Communities which organizations are located in two populations centers are considered to have medium and those which are located in one population center – small potential.

4. Significance of the activity. According to this sub-criterion those communities which have organizations the activity of which is not restricted to the local (community) level but has regional and even nationwide significance are considered to have big potential. If the activity of the organization is restricted to the community level it is regarded as a community with small potential. There are no medium potential communities while classifying by this criterion.

While classifying communities according to this criterion we see that only Armenian Evangelical community in Lebanon matches criteria of community with big potential. The headquarters of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East is in Beirut. Due to this circumstance it can be assumed that Beirut is the center of the Armenian Evangelical churches in the Middle East.

The only higher educational institution is also located in Beirut – Haigazian University. In spite of the fact that the university is Evangelical organization, Armenian youth not only from Lebanon but from more than 20 countries, despite its confessional affiliations, study there. Moreover, the university, besides nationwide significance, has a status of international educational institution as young people of other nationalities which constitute half of the total number of the students, also study there. And “Haigazian” Armenian studies journal, published by the university, is one of the most authoritative periodicals devoted to the issues of Armenology.

The Christian Endeavor Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches of Syria and Lebanon and Near East School of Theology, which are the organizations of regional importance, are also situated in Beirut.

The activity of the organizations of the Armenian Evangelical communities of other countries – Syria, Turkey, Iran and Egypt – is of local (community) significance.

Conclusions

Summarizing the analysis of the Armenian Evangelical communities in the Middle East in accordance with separate sub-criteria, one can make their rating in correspondence with their potential. On the bases of six sub-criteria the communities were classified as communities with big, medium and small potential. Correspondingly communities with big potential can be given 3 points, medium – 2 and small – 1 point. According to this logic, total points of the potential of the Armenian Evangelical communities of separate countries varies within 6-18 points where 18 points show maximal potential (communities which have big potential in accordance with all the six sub-criteria – 6x3), and 6 points show minimal potential (communities which have small potential in accordance with all the six sub-criteria – 6x1).

Thus, communities which have 6-9 points are considered to have small, communities which have 10-15 – medium and communities which have 16-18 – big potential,

According to this rating, the Armenian Evangelical communities in Lebanon and Syria, which has 18 and 16 points correspondingly, are considered to have big potential. The Armenian Evangelical communities in Iran (12 points) and Turkey (10 points) are considered to be communities with medium potential and the Armenian Evangelical communities in Iraq (8 points) and Egypt (6 points) are communities with small potential (Table 1).

Table 1. Classification and rating of the Armenian Evangelical communities in the Middle East
(In accordance with their potential)


1 Though the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East includes the Armenian Evangelical communities in Greece and Australia (see http://www.uaecne.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=3&Itemid=6), but this study covers the Armenian Evangelical communities chosen on the assumption of their geographic location, i.e. the communities of the countries of the Middle East.

2 It should be mentioned that such notions as big, medium and small potential used here are relative and can be used only for consideration of the Armenian Evangelical communities in the Middle East.

3 Հայ սփյուռք հանրագիտարան, Երևան, Հայկական հանրագիտարան հրատարակչություն, 2003, с. 185 Tessa Hofmann, Armenians in Turkey Today: A Critical Assessment of the Situation of the Armenian Minority in the Turkish Republic, Brussels, 2002, p. 9.

4 Акопян А., О чем молчит Адана, Ноев Ковчег, № 01, январь, 2010.

5 Մանուկյան Մ., Իրանահայ գաղթօջախի առօրյան, Երևան, 2000, p. 40

6 See for details: Հովյան Վ., Իրանի հայ բողոքական համայնքը, (Hovyan V. The Armenian Evangelical Community in Iran. Globus, National Security, 2010, #5, p. 33, (In Armenian)).

7 See: AMAA Directory 2012: Armenian Evangelical Churches, Institutions, Organizations, Pastors and Christian Workers Worldwide http://www.amaa.org/Directory for website.pdf

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 Ibid.

“Globus” analytical journal, #10, 2012

Return
Another materials of author