Armenians in China

The first Armenians in China to live there were those who settled in Manchuria during the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (KVZHD), undertaken by Imperial Russia in 1898 and were few in number. Their main settlement was in Harbin.

Harbin

After the Russo-Japanese War the number of Armenians increased, which necessitated the creation of an Armenian National Organization for the purpose of helping their needy countrymen and the preservation of their national heritage.

The Armenian National Organization was headed by the Board of Directors, whose President for many years was Dr. C. G. Migdisov, along with Mr. Ter-Ovakimov, an engineer with the KVZHD and Nr. Melik-Ogandjanov, an attorney. The Armenians jokingly called them the three giant whales on whose back the Armenian community of the city and the region was sustained.

The Armenian National Organization was founded in 1917. Its statute was approved by the local authorities in 1919. By 1923, they succeeded in building their own church and adjacent to it a social hall located on Sadovaya Street.

Because most of the members of the Armenian colony lived in Harbin and had the only Armenian church in China, with residential quarters for their priest, Fr. Yeghishe Rostomiants, the spiritual leader of all Armenians in Manchuria, China and Japan, Harbin became the center of Armenians in China.

One of the main tasks of the Armenian Organization was to solve the problems of assistance to the needy members, such as the elderly, the poor, the orphans and generally all those who needed one or another kind of help. Undoubtedly, the Organization also responded to the requests of other benevolent organizations giving their share.

The charitable works of the Armenian Organization was mainly done by their Ladies Aid Group, who carried out a very useful and important work of fund-raising to support their charitable works in organizing bingo games, collecting donations, and the like.

Finally, the most important task of the Board was to preserve the national heritage and spirit among the members of the colony. To this effect, the Board organized social events, staged national and literary plays, which was performed by the youth group in Armenian. On the national and religious holidays, tea parties were also organized. Classes to study Armenian language and literature also were held. The theatrical plays were performed at the prestigious Commercial Club and the Tchurin Club, where “Anahit” drama and the “Arshin-Mal-Alan “musical were performed, featuring the lead-singer, Karine Psakian.

Armeno-Gregorian Church

Until 1918, the city of Harbin had in the district of Noviy Gored an Armenian House of Prayer.

In 1918, the KVZHD (Chinese Eastern Railroad) had granted the Armenian Colony a piece of property on 18, Sadovaya Street, corner of Liaoyang Street, where they began to build the Far-Eastern Armeno-Grigorian Church, which took several years to complete. The name “Far-Eastern” derived from the fact that Rev. Fr. Yeghishe Rostomiants and his family emigrated to Harbin from Vladivostok, where evidently his church was closed.

The church in Harbin began officially to function in the 1920s. In 1925, the Chinese Authorities registered it as the Armeno-Grigorian Church of Harbin. The church was erected in memory of St. Gregory the Illuminator.

In 1932, Fr. Yeghishe Rostomiants passed away, leaving the church without a pastor and for several years thereafter the church and the premises were rented to the members of the Lutheran Congregation, who later built their own church.

In 1937, thanks to the initiative and efforts of Mr. Ter-Ovakimov, President of the Armenian Organization, a priest was brought from Jerusalem - Rev. Fr. Assoghig Ghazarian.

Rev. Fr. Assoghig was educated in the monastery, after his parents were killed by the Turks during the Armenian Genocide. At the time of his arrival in Harbin, he was only 27 years old. He was well-educated and spoke five languages. The Armenian Colony, numbering at the time about 350-400 people, felt very fortunate once again to have a pastor.

During the period of 1938-1950, Rev. Fr. Ghazarian, who was greatly respected and loved by his parishioners, did many good things for the Armenian Church. The building adjacent to the church was enlarged and renovated, thanks to the financial backing of large contributors and businessmen (Messrs. C. Eloyan, I. Avetisian, A. Elyasov and others); during the construction of the Church itself it too was built with money donated by the members (the largest contribution was made by Mr. K.C. Aspetian). All members of the Armenian Organization gave according to their means, and some others donated their labor.

In 1950, Rt. Rev. Fr. Assoghig Ghazarian, who during WWII ended up in the concentration camp for British and American citizens in the city of Moukden returned to Jerusalem and the Armenian Church once again remained without a pastor.

Subsequently, during the following years, due to the mass-exodus of Armenians from Harbin, their colony dwindled down to a mere 40-50 people.

In 1959, the building of the Armenian Church changed hands and became the property of the Chinese Government, which in turn used it for a textile factory.

In August of 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, all churches in Harbin were demolished, all the treasures of the Armenian Church kept in the altar for several years, such as the icons, and the vestments were all taken out, and dumped into the yard and burned.

References

*Thomas Lahusen. "Harbin and Manchuria: Place, Space, and Identity". November 15, 2001. ISBN 0-8223-6475-1.
*Arra Avakian. "Armenia: A Journey Through History". January 2, 2000. ISBN 0-916919-20-X.

External links

* [http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/hye_sharzhoom/vol25/dec03/chinahye.htm Armenian Studies website]

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