Armenian Orthodox Church in the United States

United States   United States Church Records   Armenian Orthodox Church Records

History in the United States
The pioneers of Armenian immigration to the United States were young high school graduates who, beginning in 1834, arrived in small numbers in search of higher education at American universities.

Larger groups began arriving in the 1880s and 1890s to escape Ottoman Turkish oppression, especially the massacres of 1895-96. The influx of Armenian immigrants to the New World reached its peak in the aftermath of the 1915 Armenian Genocide when large numbers of Armenians living in Turkey were systematically persecuted, deported, and exterminated by the Ottoman regime.

Beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1980s, another wave of Armenian immigrants—originating from such countries as Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq—came to America, a result of the rising political unrest in the Middle East. Immigration from Armenia itself was rare during that country’s period under Soviet domination, but this trend reversed in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the establishment of a free and independent Republic of Armenia.

The first Armenian Church was built in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1891. The first Armenian clergyman had arrived earlier, in response to a petition by 300 Armenian residents of the city. By 1897, as the number of Armenian immigrants grew, there were six clergymen serving the Armenian Church in America. With the exception of Worcester, services were held in non-Armenian sanctuaries, notably Episcopalian churches. The Armenian Church of America was established officially by Catholicos Mkrtich Khrimian in 1898.

There are about one million Armenians in the United States and Canada today. The Church has two dioceses in the U.S: the Eastern Diocese—known officially as the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)—has jurisdiction over all of the United States except California, Washington, Nevada, and Arizona. The Western Diocese, consisting of the above western states, was constituted in 1928. There are 63 organized and mission parishes in the Eastern Diocese.

Types of Church Records
Different denominations, different time periods, and practices of different record keepers will effect how much information can be found in the records. Sometimes, you will only find a simple membership list. This outline will show the types of details which might be found in the best case scenario. Denominations following practices learned in Europe, where there are state churches (such as the Anglican/Episcopal, Catholic, and Lutheran), are more likely to have full records.

Baptisms
In Catholic and Anglican records, children were usually baptized a few days after birth, and therefore, the baptism record proves date of birth. Other religions, such as Baptists, baptized at other points in the member's life. Baptism registers might give:

Marriages
Marriage registers can give:

Burials
Burial registers may give:

Writing for Records

 * See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.

Writing to a Local Church

 * Armenian Church Eastern Diocese Directory
 * Western Diocese of the Armenian Church Parish Locator

Writing to Church Headquarters
Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church 630 Second Avenue New York, NY 10016 Phone: 212.686.0710 Email: publicrelations@armeniandiocese.org
 * Website

Western Diocese of the Armenian Church 3325 N. Glenoaks Blvd. Burbank, CA 91504

Telephone: (818) 558-7474 Fax: (818) 558-6333 Email: info@wdacna.com
 * Website