Throughout history, Armenia has been a battlefield for many invaders and contending empires, and a bridge for many cultures and civilizations. During the past 2,700 years, Armenia has been conquered by the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, the Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Tatars, Ottomans, Persians, and Russians. Armenian kingdoms, principalities, and even a short-lived empire (95-55 B.C.) managed to survive and thrive for some 1,700 years. Under various kings and princes, the Armenians developed a sophisticated culture, an original architecture, and their own alphabet.The 1905 Russian revolution and the 1908 Young Turk revolution raised the hopes of the Armenians for reform and an opportunity to build a homeland in historical Armenia. These hopes were dashed as the Ottoman and the Russian Empires fought each other during World War I. A dark hour of Armenian history is the Armenian genocide, which started on April 24, 1915. Some 1,750,000 Armenians were deported to Syria and Mesopotamia by the Ottoman authorities. Subject to famine, disease, and systematic massacres, most of them perished. This "ethnic cleansing" of the Armenians from their historical homeland led Raphael Lemkin, the father of the Genocide Treaty, to coin the new term "genocide" in the 1930s to describe the historical plight of the Assyrians and the Armenians as subjects of the first genocide of the 20th century. Armenia gained independence on September 23, 1991.Today, there are several million Armenians worldwide. Significant numbers are located in Armenia and the United States of America. Major diaspora centers of the Middle East are Iran, Syria, and Lebanon. There is also an Armenian community in Australia.
Since 1950, several Armenians from Western Armenia, India, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and other Southeast Asian countries have settled in Australia. Many families who migrated to Australia after the Armenian Genocide in 1915 established themselves through small business ownership. Today, Armenians in Australia are especially well represented in fields such as jewelry making, car mechanics, and building development, where family-run businesses continue to thrive and serve as a strong foundation for community life. There are several Armenian community groups located mainly in New South Wales and Melbourne for the diaspora to participate in – these include choir groups, dance groups, Saturday schools, church groups, and scouts. Alongside this, the community group board members host yearly wide functions such as balls and sporting events in which different Armenian teams travel to Sydney to compete against each other. The Armenian community in Australia is built on a strong foundation of rich love for their culture and heritage. Today, they continue to protest for the years of genocide, war, and forced displacement in their ancient homeland.
In 301 AD, during the rule of King Dirtad III, Armenia became the world's first Christian nation. A Christian monk, commonly known as Krikor Lusavorich or St. Gregory the Illuminator, cured the King from a disease. After this event, King Dirtad III was baptized and accepted Christianity as Armenia's official state religion. Before this, two disciples had brought Christianity to Armenia, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew.Spiritually, Armenians are still Christian, but their faith in Christ has often taken the back seat to nationalism or a faith in their heritage. Every generation needs a fresh work of the Holy Spirit to move them to full devotion to Jesus Christ.
Armenians need the Holy Spirit to move in their families and their churches so they can enjoy the abundant life that only Jesus offers.
Pray for the Armenians in Australia to be salt and light to those who don’t know the only Savior.Pray for spiritual peace; this is what Armenia needs most of all.Pray that God would bring revelation of Christianity as a spiritual relationship, and that Armenians would realize they can have joy and peace as they follow the Lord.Pray for their businesses to flourish as a testimony of God’s power and goodness.Pray for God to open the eyes of the Armenians, that they may come to saving faith and not a faith that relies on their heritage.Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill them that they may walk as true Christians and not rely on rituals and traditions for their salvation.
Scripture Prayers for the Armenian in Australia.
Middle East Resourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Australianshttp://diaspora.gov.am/en/pages/12/australiahttps://austral-armenian.com.au/https://www.arcaustralia.org/https://anc.kayweb.com.au/
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
