Armenian Christianity and the Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide of 1915–1916, together with associated persecution and mass violence during the surrounding years, was one of the most devastating events in Armenian history.

The Ottoman government's deportations, massacres, and policies of destruction caused the deaths of approximately one million or more Armenians, with many historical estimates placing the number around 1.5 million.

The genocide destroyed much of the Armenian population's historic presence across large areas of the Ottoman Empire.

The Destruction of Religious Institutions

Churches, monasteries, schools, libraries, and ecclesiastical communities were among the institutions devastated.

Clergy were arrested, deported, or killed.

Religious buildings were destroyed, abandoned, confiscated, or converted to other uses.

Many Armenian manuscripts, inscriptions, and cultural objects were lost.

Religious and Cultural Survival

Survivors carried Armenian Christian traditions into new communities across the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and other regions.

Churches became centers for religious worship, education, language preservation, and community organization.

The Armenian Apostolic Church played a major role in maintaining connections among displaced populations.

Recognition of the Martyrs

In 2015, during the centennial commemorations of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Apostolic Church canonized the victims of the genocide as martyrs.

This was a major event in the modern religious history of the Church.

The commemoration connected the experiences of twentieth-century Armenians with the much older Christian tradition of martyrdom and collective remembrance.

The genocide is an extensively documented historical event, supported by diplomatic records, eyewitness accounts, survivor testimony, contemporary reporting, and extensive scholarship.