Armenian in Lebanon

Introduction / History

Throughout history, Armenia has been a battlefield for many invaders and contending empires and a bridge for many cultures and civilizations. During the past 2,700 years, Armenia has been conquered by the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, the Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Tatars, Ottomans, Persians and Russians. Armenian kingdoms, principalities, and even a short-lived empire (95-55 B.C.) survived and thrived for some 1,700 years. Under various kings and princes, the Armenians developed a sophisticated culture, original architecture, and their own alphabet.

The 1905 Russian Revolution and the 1908 Young Turk Revolution raised the hopes of the Armenians for reform and an opportunity to build a homeland in historical Armenia. These hopes were dashed as the Ottoman and the Russian Empires fought each other during World War I. A dark hour of Armenian history is the Armenian genocide, which started on April 24, 1915. Some 1,750,000 Armenians were deported into Syria and Mesopotamia by the Ottoman authorities. Subject to famine, disease, and systematic massacres, most of them perished. This "ethnic cleansing" of the Armenians from their historical homeland led Raphael Lemkin, the father of the Genocide Treaty, to coin the new term "genocide" in the 1930s to describe the historical plight of the Assyrians and the Armenians as subjects of the first genocide of the 20th century.

A large percentage of Armenian refugees and survivors of the Ottoman Empire s massacres resulted in them fleeing to parts of the Arab world. That situation increased the numbers of Armenians in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Sudan and Ethiopia. There is also a large Armenian community in Lebanon that has been there for over 100 years.

The Armenians of Lebanon were, for a time, the most important Armenian community outside of the Soviet Union and the United States. The core of the modern community also arrived as a result of the massacres and genocide in Turkey. The Lebanese Constitution granted them and other minorities civil rights, which, in time, enabled the Armenians to elect their own members of parliament.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Armenians have traditionally lived well in Lebanon. For that reason, Lebanon has been a magnet for the Armenian diaspora. Armenians must still navigate the challenges when refugees arrive from nearby countries like Iraq and Syria where there is war.

They have their own schools and cultural establishments. Armenian families often own shops that sell dry goods and clothes. Others have restaurants.

Armenians in Lebanon have established their own musical forms and their own theater. This is one of the ways they remain committed to their culture, but it can also separate them from the Arabic majority. They also have separate political parties, associations, publications and neighborhoods.

What Are Their Beliefs?

In 301 AD, during the rule of King Dirtad III, Armenia became the world's first Christian nation. A Christian monk, commonly known as Krikor Lusavorich or St. Gregory the Illuminator, cured the king of a disease. After this event, King Dirtad III was baptized and accepted Christianity as Armenia's official state religion. Before this, two disciples had brought Christianity to Armenia, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew. Today, Armenians in Lebanon have their own religious establishments, such as the Catholicosate of Cilicia, the Armenian Catholic Church, and the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches.

What Are Their Needs?

The traumatizing experience of being expelled from their homeland and the historic genocide made a deep impression on Armenians. Many have trouble forgiving the Turks after over 100 years. This impedes their spiritual lives. Those in Lebanon also have to deal with the trauma of sporadic wars in the region that affects their lives and their businesses.

Prayer Points

Pray for healing for Armenians and for the ability to integrate into their respective diaspora communities.
Pray for the Armenians in the diaspora to hold on to their Christian faith and to have a personal experience with Jesus Christ.
Pray for peace; this is what Armenia needs most of all.
Pray that God would bring revelation of Christianity as a spiritual relationship rather than a call to nationalism.

Text Source:   Joshua Project