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162 The Armenian Church

churches and community schools to nourish
the spiritual and educational needs of the
people. As the community-building process
gained momentum, the Church supported
the creation of social and humanitarian or-
ganizations and centers to respond to the
socio-medical and humanitarian exigencies of
the people. Indeed, through its intense social
action, the Holy See of Cilicia played a crucial
part in this formative period of the diaspora.
To this effect, it is worth mentioning the
exceptional social assistance that the Dan-
churchaid, the Swiss Protestant Church, the
Swiss Friends of the Armenians, the Ameri-
can Near East Relief Foundation, Action
Chrétienne en Orient, and other western
missionary and humanitarian organizations
rendered to the Armenian people after the
genocide, the most critical juncture of the
modern history of the Armenian Church.
Following the massacres of Armenians in
the Ottoman Empire in 1896, they founded
and operated hospitals, orphanages, homes
for the aged and the widowed, and nu-
merous other humanitarian centers. Their
humanitarian action intensified, particularly
during and after the genocide. These western
churches, missionary agencies, and humani-
tarian organizations never proselytized. Most
of them learned Armenian, acquainted them-
selves with the history of our church and
people, and focused entirely on helping Ar-