Armenia: Church Chronology

Zara branch

1884–85 • Present-Day Turkey and Syria

Responding to a letter from an Armenian man requesting information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Jacob Spori was called to open the Turkish Mission. During his time in Turkey, Spori and other missionaries baptized members of Armenian communities in Aintab, Aleppo, and Zara (pictured: Zara Branch, 1901).

1921 • Aintab, Turkey, and Aleppo, SyriaIn the unrest in the aftermath of World War I, Latter-day Saints from Aintab, Turkey, fled their homes for Aleppo, Syria, under the leadership of local Church members, including Moses Hindoian. John Wilford Booth, president of the Armenian Mission, worked with local French military forces to secure passports and permission to travel.

1937 • United StatesThe Book of Mormon was published in Western Armenian.

1988 • ArmeniaFollowing an earthquake on December 7, 50,000 Armenians were found dead and one-seventh of the population was left homeless. Church leaders presented a $100,000 check to the Soviet ambassador in Washington, D.C., for earthquake assistance and offered further aid.

July 29, 1989 • Yerevan, ArmeniaChurch officials sent representatives to Armenia to consult with the central government and organize a multiyear effort in which humanitarian missionaries with construction expertise and 450 local workers would begin to build a new concrete plant.

June 24, 1991 • YerevanElder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, together with other Latter-day Saint representatives, offered a prayer, dedicating Armenia for the preaching of the restored gospel. Shortly thereafter, humanitarian missionary couples began to arrive in Armenia to work in the concrete plant.

December 2, 1991 • YerevanArmenian friends and investigators attended a Church service hosted by senior missionary couples.

March 1992 • YerevanThe first converts in Armenia were baptized.

January 20, 1994 • YerevanThe Yerevan Armenia Branch was organized.

July 1995 • YerevanThe Yerevan Armenia District was organized.

1999 • YerevanThe Yerevan Armenia Mission, now known as the Armenia/Georgia Mission, was organized.

May 2000 • YerevanMargarit Matanyan, Susanna Sergoyan, Nerses Ingilizean, and Arthur Yeritsyan served as an ecclesiastical review team for the translation of the Book of Mormon into Eastern Armenian.

January 2001 • ArmeniaThe first local missionary, Arthur Minasyan, began service in Armenia.

February 2, 2002 • YerevanLatter-day Saints gathered for the dedication of the Ajapniak Branch meetinghouse, the first Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Armenia.

April 2002 • ArmeniaA family history center opened in Armenia.

June 30, 2002 • ArmeniaMembers participated in the historic rededication of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple via satellite broadcast, viewing two sessions broadcast in Armenian.

March 2003 • Salt Lake City, Utah, USANine Armenian Latter-day Saints traveled to Salt Lake City to record the temple ceremony in Armenian.

June–July 2005 • Hankavan, ArmeniaYouth camps were held at Hankavan, with 62 young men and several leaders in June and 85 young women and several leaders in July.

August 23, 2006 • YerevanChurch leaders, including Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, met with the president and the foreign minister of Armenia. Local Latter-day Saints also met with Elder Ballard for a special meeting for members and guests at the Marriott Hotel.

August 28, 2006 • ArmeniaThe triple combination of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price in the Armenian language arrived for distribution in Armenia.

April 3, 2010 • Salt Lake CityArayik Minasyan was sustained as an Area Seventy.

June 2010 • ArmeniaFor the first time, local members served as branch presidents for every congregation in the country.