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home to about 30,000 orphans. According to immediately after starting its service in East- Step by step, Stalin’s dictatorship and
the statistics of the Relief Committee, under ern Armenia. The development of education, repressions began to reveal and have direct
its care in 1919-21 there were 75 orphanages mental and intellectual progress, enlighten- influence on the Armenian Evangelical
and 10 hospitals. In his June 27, 1919 report, ment, and the adoption of progressive views Church. Starting in 1927, Soviet authorities
Artak Vardapet, interim Leader of Kars dio- and ideas have always been the focus of the in Armenia canceled the licenses of Arme-
cese, wrote: "American Relief by taking care Armenian Evangelical Church. Proof of this nian Evangelical preachers. Persecution
of the orphans of Yerevan, Alexandropol are the Armenian Evangelical intellectuals began, and many pastors and Evangelicals
and Kars, saves the lives of thousands of who entered the field of Armenian reality were imprisoned or exiled. The number of
orphans." After the establishment of Soviet in the middle of the 19 century before churches gradually decreased, and activities
th
government in Armenia, the Relief Commit- the formation of the Republic of Armenia. of the Armenian Evangelical Churches were
tee continued its ministry for several years. Along with Rev. Vahan Mikaelyan and banned in the USSR. The Armenian Evan-
Beginning in 1923, the Soviet government Rev. Hayk Mudoyan, it is worthy to men- gelical Ararat Union stopped its existence.
started restricting the Relief Committee’s tion other spiritual, educational, scientific During this difficult period, small groups of
activities, and finally on January 1, 1931 it and public figures and activists who made Armenian Evangelicals remained mainly in
was completely stopped. a great contribution and left a significant Yerevan and Leninakan (Gyumri). When the
During the years of the Relief activ- mark, especially in the Eastern Armenian Soviet Union government passed the Free-
ity, besides Rev. Mudoyan, many other reality, such as Abraham Amikhanyan and dom of Conscience Act in 1944, some Ar-
Armenian Evangelical figures, pastors and Sedrak Tarayan. menian Evangelical groups in Armenia were
preachers worked closely with the Relief able to function and organize. Members of
Committee. Leaders and figures such as Rev. Evangelical Church of Armenia during the former Ararat Union, such as the head
Arsen Keorkezyan, Tigran Abeghyan, Rev. the Soviet Period of the community of Samaghar village of
Hovhannes Bznuni, Rev. Titos Manukyan, On December 15, 1923, the government Etchmiadzin region Benyamin Kocharyan,
Abraham Melik-Janyan, Tsolak Papikyan, of Soviet Armenia officially recognized the Rev. Vahan Mikaelyan’s son Arshavir Mi-
Mushegh Sahakyan, Rafael Melik-Adamyan Armenian Evangelical Ararat Union and kaelyan and others, helped preserve small
and many others. The diligent Armenian registered the constitution of the Union. In Armenian Evangelical groups in Armenia
Evangelical spiritual leaders were very the 1920s in Soviet Armenia, there were 15 in the 1930s and 1940s, and in 1945 began
helpful ministers and figures in the Relief Armenian Evangelical ecclesiastical com- to rebuild at least one community with the
Committee by taking responsible positions munities recognized by the government, name of the Ararat Union.
of counselors, overseers, preachers, evan- and 15 places where religious meetings On May 20, 1945, the Ararat Union of
gelists, translators, and staff in orphanages were allowed. Despite the fact that in 1923 Armenian Evangelicals was reestablished.
and hospitals. the Soviet government officially recognized The community of Yerevan had 46 commu-
the Ararat Union, by the end of the 1920s nicative members. In 1945, the government
Armenian Evangelical Eastern Ar- authorities began to intensively obstruct of the Armenian SSR allowed the com-
menia Intellectual Figures the activities of Armenian Evangelicals and munity to operate with the right to have a
It is worthy to remember that the ECA secretly persecute prominent Evangelical place of worship located on Nar Dos Street
pursued its own educational development figures. in Yerevan. But since the USSR government
in 1944 allowed all Evangelical groups
and the most prominent group in USSR ̶
Baptists ̶ to operate only in a single union,
the Armenian Evangelical and Baptist com-
munities in Armenia were forced to unite
(first in Yerevan, later in Leninakan) and
were called the Community of Evangelical
Christians and Baptists. It became a part of
the Evangelical Christian-Baptist Church of
the Soviet Union.
The church of these newly emerged
Evangelical Christians and Baptists was
strengthened and received flesh and blood
thanks to the traditional Armenian Evangeli-
cal families who moved to Armenia from
various colonies around the world during the
great repatriation of 1946-1948, passing on
the unique culture of the ECA and everyday
life to this newly formed community. In
February 1946, the government of Soviet
Armenia officially recognized the Armenian
Evangelical Church of Armenia Publications: Periodicals, calendars, Bibles and Hymnal. Evangelical Christian-Baptist Church in Ye-

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