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Ecumenical Engagement 193

man authorities as a millet. In 1867, Pope
Pius IX united the Patriarchate with the Ar-
menian Catholic diocese of Constantinople,
and the Patriarchate was moved to Constan-
tinople. In 1925, after the genocide, the Patri-
archate was reestablished in Bzommar.

Armenian Evangelical Church
Protestant missionaries started their acti-
vities among the Armenians early in the 19th
Century. By responding to socio-economic
needs and offering Armenian students the
opportunity for higher education, they at-
tracted a few Armenians in Constantinople
and in some regions in the Ottoman Empire.
Influenced by the slogans of the Protestant
movement, these Armenians criticized the
conservative approaches of the Church in
respect to theological and pastoral matters,
and declared their intention to initiate refor-
mation within the Armenian Church. The
movement drew a strong reaction from the
Armenian patriarch of Constantinople who
excommunicated its leader and, later, his fol-
lowers. In reaction, a rival organization out-
side the Armenian Church was formed. With
the intervention of the British ambassador
in Constantinople, the Ottoman government
created a Protestant millet in 1847, which also
included the Armenian Protestants. Initially,
the Armenian Protestants did not intend to
establish a separate ecclesial entity. The Ar-