Andrew David Urshan

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Andrew David Urshan, 1911.

Andrew David Urshan (born Andreos Bar Dawid Urshan Aramaic ܐܢܕܪܐܘܣ; * 1884 in Abajaluy, Urmia ; † 1967 ) was a Qajar Assyrian , evangelist and writer. Born near the city of Urmia, he was influenced in his youth by the missionary activities of the Presbyterians . At the age of 18 he decided to immigrate to the United States , where he began working as an evangelist and joined the Pentecostal movement. He later founded the Persian Pentecostal Mission .

In 1913 Urshan returned to his homeland, but shortly afterwards experienced the invasion of the Ottomans in the First World War and the persecution of the Assyrians. Urshan was able to return to the United States, where he finally settled.

He became known as the Persian Evangelist and wrote numerous books and hymns . He also edited The Witness of God magazine (1917). He published his biography as a serialized story in the magazine under the title The Life of Andrew bar David Urshan . These articles were later combined into a book. He left no writings in Assyrian-Neo-Aramaic .

Life

Urshan was born in Abajaluy, a village near Urmia. His parents were Shamasha Dawid Bar Urshan , a deacon , and his wife Nassimo . He received his education at the Presbyterian College in Urmia, which was founded by American missionaries . There he also experienced a rebirth experience .

In 1902, at the age of 18, Urshan traveled to the United States. The journey took him via Tbilisi , Kiev , Warsaw , Berlin and Hamburg to New York . In 1906 he moved to Chicago , where he used the Anglicised name Andrew David Urshan . There he met a group of Assyrians with whom he began a Bible study at the non-denominational Moody Church . Soon after, in 1908, the group adopted Pentecostal ideas and joined William H. Durham's North Avenue Mission to Chicago. Urshan then founded the Persian Pentecostal Mission in Chicago. By 1910 he was traveling the Midwest where he conducted evangelism events.

Title page of the Assyrian Hymnbook edited by Andrew D. Urshan.

After 11 years in the United States, Urshan returned to his native Persia in late 1913. But through the First World War , which reached his home in 1915, he witnessed the terror perpetrated in the Persian province of Azerbaijan by the Ottoman conquerors. The Ottoman invasion led to the displacement of many Assyrians and Andrew and his family also became a refugee. With his parents and four brothers he went on foot to Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire ). They hoped to flee through Russia to the United States. The trip was a dangerous undertaking. The family was forced to evade the "marauding gangs of Kurds and Turks " for several weeks. Andrew's brother Benjamin reports that their parents died on the way and were buried in unnamed graves.

In Tbilisi, Urshan preached among the Persian immigrants, but had to leave the city due to bans by the Russian government. He then went to Armavir , where he preached among the refugees. On this second trip through the Russian Empire, he got to know Russian Pentecostal churches.

In 1916 he was back in Chicago, where he resumed his evangelistic work. He married and "devoted his life to preaching nationwide." In addition, he ran the establishment and organization of Pentecostal churches.

family

Urshan had four children. His eldest son, Nathaniel Andrew Urshan (1920-2005), later became the leader of the United Pentecostal Church International , a "leading Pentecostal denomination".

literature

  • David A. Reed: The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism. Cambridge University Press 2014: 58-59. ISBN 978-1316060643 [1] Cecil M. | editor-surname1 = Robeck Jr. | editor-given2 = Ammos | editor-surname2 = Yong.
  • Stephen A. Schmidt: URSHAN, ANDREŌS BAR DĀWĪD. Art. In: Ehsan Yarshater: Iranicaonline.org. Encyclopaedia Iranica 2016.
  • Douglas Jacobsen: Thinking in the Spirit: Theologies of the Early Pentecostal Movement. Bloomington 2003.
  • Vasili Shoumanov: Assyrians in Chicago. Charleston 2001.
  • Andrew David Urshan: The Life of Andrew bar David Urshan, Stockton, Calif., 1967.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Schmidt 2016.
  2. ↑ Schmidt 2016.
  3. ↑ Schmidt 2016.
  4. ↑ had a 'born again' experience in 1900. Schmidt 2016.
  5. ↑ Schmidt 2016.
  6. ^ Reed 2014: 58.
  7. ↑ Schmidt 2016.
  8. ↑ Schmidt 2016.
  9. ^ Reed 2014: 58.
  10. ↑ escape through Russia to the United States. Schmidt 2016.
  11. ↑ "maurauding bands of Kurds and Turks" "for many weeks. Schmidt 2016th
  12. ↑ Schmidt 2016.
  13. ^ Reed 2014: 58.
  14. ^ Reed 2014: 58.
  15. ↑ Schmidt 2016.
  16. ^ "Pentecostal organizational activity". Schmidt 2016.
  17. ↑ "a leading Pentecostal denomination." Schmidt 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Urshan, Andrew David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Urshan, Andreos Bar Dawid (maiden name); ܐܢܕܪܐܘܣ (arcS)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Qajar Assyrian, evangelist and writer
DATE OF BIRTH 1884
PLACE OF BIRTH Abajaluy, Urmia
DATE OF DEATH 1967