Immanuel Church (Aleppo)

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Armenian Evangelical Church of Immanuel in Aleppo , January 2, 1950

The Immanuelkirche or Emmanuelkirche ( Arabic كنيسة عمانوئيل, Armenian Էմանուել եկեղեցին ) is a church of the Armenian Evangelical Church in the Syrian city ​​of Aleppo in the Aziziya district.

Location

The Immanuel Church of Aleppo is located in the Aziziya district near Jamal-ad-Din-al-Afghani Street (شارع جمال الدين الأفغاني, DMG Šāriʿ Ǧamāl ad-Dīn al-Afġānī ) north of al-Eibaruh square (العباره).

history

There was an Armenian Protestant parish in Aleppo from 1852 onwards. However, after the First World War, the congregation grew rapidly due to the genocide of the Armenians due to refugees from what is now Turkey , and so today's Immanuelkirche was completed in 1923. According to its own information, the church had 425 members in 2007, of whom an average of 150 to 160 people took part in the services.

During the civil war in Syria , the roof and part of the pews of the Immanuel Church were destroyed by rocket fire from rebels on January 17, 2016. Just a few hours later, Pastor Harutyun Selimian and members of the congregation came to begin repairing the damage. The church could not be used for almost three years. Around 2000 people attended a joint service of the three Armenian Evangelical Churches of Aleppo ( Bethel , Martyrs , Emmanuel) in the Bethel Church on April 16, 2017 for the first Easter since the Islamists were driven out of Aleppo, led by Simon Der-Sahagian and Harutyun Selimian part. The Emmanuel Congregation celebrated their services in the church hall. The reconstruction was supported by the Gustav-Adolf-Werk with 36,600 euros. On December 2, 2018, the reconstructed church was reopened with an Advent service. About 700 people took part, most of them guests from other Protestant churches and also from other Christian denominations, as well as representatives from the city of Aleppo. At that time the community still had 80 to 100 members due to the refugee movements from Aleppo. Nevertheless, the church's work with children and young people is still alive.

Architecture and equipment

Like other Protestant churches in Syria, the Immanuelkirche is simple. The church, made of dark brown stones, has an approximately rectangular floor plan, slightly angled at the corner to the right of the pulpit, a wooden gable roof and five narrow, high lancet windows on each of the side facades. On the gable opposite the side of the altar there is a very large pointed arched window above and three small ones below. The ogival main entrance is on the eaves side, next to the aforementioned gable front. The inside of the church is plastered and painted white.

More functions

It is the seat of the Armenian Evangelical Congregation in Syria, which in turn is a member of the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Middle East.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church: About Us ( Memento July 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Armenian Church in Aleppo Damaged in Missile Attack. Asbarez, January 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Ruth Gledhill: Children dead and Armenian Evangelical Church in Aleppo damaged in rocket attacks and bombings in Syria. Christian Today, January 18, 2016.
  4. ^ Joint Easter Service at Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church. Report Easter in Aleppo, 2017, accessed June 19, 2020.
  5. ↑ Syria: Emmanuel Church in Aleppo put back into service. Gustav-Adolf-Werk , December 3, 2018.

Coordinates: 36 ° 12 ′ 28.5 ″  N , 37 ° 9 ′ 2 ″  E