Armenian Church in Dhaka: The quiet church from colonial era

Armenian Church in Dhaka: The quiet church from colonial era

In seventeenth and eighteenth century, there was a solid nearness of Armenians in Dhaka. At the point when Persians vanquished Eastern Armenia, Shah Abbas (ruler) ousted around 40,000 Armenian brokers to Isfahan and New Julfa. From that point, they landed at Bengal following the strides of the Persians. They build up their very own exchanging network there, which was perceived by the Mughal govt. since late seventeenth century. They used to exchange material, jute, and foam. Their settlement in Dhaka is as yet known as Armanitola. Armenian Church in Dhaka bears declaration to the presence of a noteworthy Armenian people group in the district. 

Armenian Church of Holy Resurrection in Old Dhaka 


Creation of Armenian Church in Dhaka 

In confidence, the Armenians were Christians having a place with Greek or Orthodox Church. They manufactured houses of worship wherever they settled. Armenian places of worship and common landmarks in Chinsura, Saidabad, Murshidabad, Calcutta and Dhaka are as yet surviving. The early Armenian pioneers fabricated a little sanctuary amidst their locale cemetery in Armanitola. Before the finish of the eighteenth century the Armenian people group had developed significantly and the house of prayer was discovered deficient for the requirements of the network. 

So the house of prayer was supplanted by the Holy Resurrection Church with real gifts by Agah Catchick Minas who gave the land and Michael Sarkies, Astwasatoor Gavork, Margar Pogose and Khojah Petrus for development costs. Before this congregation had been assembled, the Armenians were interned adjacent to the Roman Catholic Church at Tejgaon. The congregation was finished in 1781 and sanctified by His Grace Bishop Ephreim. 

Hallway of Armenian Church of Holy Resurrection at Old Dhaka in Bangladesh 

The steeple was included 1837 through gifts of another shipper, Johannes Carapiet Sarkies. In the fifty years following the congregation's development, a clock tower was raised on its western side. Supposedly, the clock could be heard four miles away, and individuals synchronized their watches with the sound of the pinnacle's ringer. The check ceased in 1880, and a seismic tremor crushed the pinnacle in 1897. In 1910, a parsonage was included and the floor of the congregation was enhanced with marble, and electric lights, a gift by Arathoon Stephen of Calcutta. 

The arrangement of Armenian church is rectangular. Highlights incorporate an angled entryway and a curved entryway. There are a sum of four entryways and 27 windows. The principle floor is isolated into three sections: a platform encased by railings, a center segment with two collapsing entryways, and a region isolated by a wooden fence for seating ladies and youngsters. There is a winding staircase into the congregation. 

In the old memorial park, among the 350 individuals covered there, a statue remains at the grave of Catachik Avatik Thomas, depicting his better half. The statue was purchased from Kolkata and the grave is engraved with the words "Best of Husbands." 



The Church in present days 

Today, the Armenian church in Dhaka is typically shut. The last Armenian that takes considerations of the congregation is Mikel Housep Martirossian (Micheal Joseph Martin). He was likewise one of the Armenian who was in the jute exchange. It has been the subject of BBC and AFP documentaries, and has gotten acknowledgment from the Bangladesh government as an archeological site under the purview of the bureau of design. 

Front perspective on Armenian Church of Holy Resurrection in Old Dhaka 

Have you at any point visited the Armenian Church in Dhaka? How astounding have you discovered it? Offer your involvement with us in remarks!