armenia: challenged by
independence
You can’t argue with Armenia’s Christian pedigree. This country bordered by Tur- key and Iran was the first ever to officially adopt Christianity (in 301 A.D.). Its unofficial
national symbol is even older: Mount Ararat, the
supposed docking pier for Noah’s Ark after its
arduous 150-day voyage.
Today, an estimated 94 per cent of the Armenian population still links itself with the Armenian
Apostolic Church, which traces its origins to a
preaching tour by two of Jesus’ disciples, Bartholomew and Thaddeus. This ancient church
appears to have moved well into the current century with its Facebook page and regular Twitter
updates.
Armenia easily captures the imagination. Its
landscape is stunning, its art beautiful, its carpets
rich and colourful, its poetry long and its architecture fascinating.
Other Middle Eastern countries may vie for
the title of “civilization’s birthplace,” but Armenia was clearly a cradle where civilization
spent some of its infancy. Armenia’s history
also includes centuries of being conquered
by the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian and
Ottoman empires.
In the early days of the First World War, Armenia was crushed by what is known – at least
unofficially so far – as one of the world’s first
genocides. More than one million Armenians
are reported to have died under the heavy hand
of the Ottoman Empire.
In more recent years, Armenia was swallowed up by the Soviet Union, from which it
gained its independence in 1991. The Soviet
years were hard on the country’s churches –
today there may be only 300 Armenian Apostolic churches to serve the country’s 3 million
people. There are also a small number of Protestant Evangelicals in the country, perhaps
10,000. The World Evangelical Alliance has
national affiliates in neighbouring Turkey, Iran
and Azerbaijan, but not yet in Armenia.
Border disputes still cloud Armenia’s relationships with Turkey and Azerbaijan, hampering peace and restricting economic growth
in the region. (Turkey’s leaders have always denied that the Ottomans attempted genocide.
armenia Fast Facts
DIsPUTeD
NagORNO-
KaRaBaKh
RegION
Armenia’s border dispute with Azerbaijan is
not fully resolved.)
Turkey and Armenia signed an accord in
October 2009 to establish diplomatic ties and
re-open the border they closed in 1993. But large
and economically important groups of Armenians living abroad strongly oppose the accord.
Armenia has evolved into a free market economy. The 2009 Index of Economic Freedom
ranked Armenia as the 31st freest economy in the
world – ahead of 25 European countries – thanks
to its flexible commercial regulation, low tax rates
and few restrictions on foreign investment.
Full Name: Republic of Armenia
Population: 3,245,900
area: 29,800 km2 ( 11,506 sq.
miles), landlocked and mostly
mountainous
Capital and largest City: Yerevan
Religions: Armenian Apostolic
94.7%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi
(monotheism tinged by nature
worship) 1.3%
ethnic groups: 97.9% Armenian,
1.3% Yazidi (Kurdish), 0.5% Rus-
sian, 0.3% Other
life expectancy: 70
literacy: Most adults can read
and write in Armenian (96%)
and in Russian (76%)
gDP per capita: $5,972
Diaspora: About 3,000,000
ethnic Armenians live in Russia,
France or the United States.
(Sources: CBC Newsworld; CIA
World Factbook)
Prayer Points
Unfortunately, there have been many speed-bumps on the road to capitalism, and life remains hard for the majority of the population.
High rates of unemployment (about 31 per cent)
and poverty (somewhere between 26 and 50 per
cent) make it difficult to flourish, especially during the long and brutal winter season or the hot
summer. Malnourishment is common.
•;Pray;for;the;education;system,
especially the way that poverty
is raising the dropout rate.
•;Pray;for;an;increased;distribu-tion of wealth and opportunity.
•;Pray;for;continued;healing;and
forgiveness over past oppression, invasion and massacres.
Unicef reports that it is families with children
under five that comprise almost 60 per cent of
the poor in Armenia. Education is legally compulsory to the end of Grade 11, but nearly one-quarter of children drop out
by 10th grade, locking them
further into poverty’s grip.
•;Pray;that;the;people;of;Armenia
would find faith and life in their
historic church, as well as opportunity for growth in newer expressions of the Christian faith.
Canadian Connections
Nonetheless, Armenia is
a regular destination for tour
companies catering to Christians with a love of history
and others who appreciate
the beauty of a nation still
becoming. ft
•;World;Vision;has;worked;in;Armenia;for;20
years. Canadians support 3,500 children
there in various health, education and de-
velopment programs. World Vision donors
worldwide help another 24,000 children in
Armenia. www.worldvision.ca
•;The Church of the Nazarene has six church-
es in Armenia led by pastors with a vision to
spread the gospel. www.nazarene.ca
See a more detailed version of this article at
Karen Stiller is associate editor of Faith Today.
