The history of Armenians in the Holy Land goes back to Roman times, when Armenia and Palestine were part of the same Empire. The Armenians could be found in the Holy Land as legionaries and merchants.

After Armenia had adopted Christianity as the state religion in 301, Armenian pilgrims flocked to Jerusalem. St. Jerome mentions some Armenian pilgrims in his letters. At the same time, the earliest literary record of the Armenian monastic presence figures in the hagiographic literature of Palestine. Cyril of Scythopolis mentions that St. Euthymius, who was Armenian bishop of Meletine, became the organizing father of desert monasticism in Palestine. From numerous literary sources, it is known that between the fourth and the seventh centuries Armenian monks were to be found in great numbers in all major desert monasteries of Palestine. Recent archeological discoveries have provided evidence that there existed at least a dozen Armenian monasteries in and around Jerusalem in the sixth century. A few mosaic floors with Armenian inscriptions are situated on the Mount of Olives. Other floors were discovered in the area Near Damascus Gate. Excavations on the road # 1 [north of Damascus Gate] revealed the remains of the first Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem. These remains are dated to the sixth century.

The most ancient edifice in the Armenian Quarter, the Cathedral of St. James, was founded in the middle of the fifth century. The Armenian Lectionary dating from the fifth century is sufficient indication of the organized monastic life of Armenians at that time.
When caliph Omar captured Jerusalem, the Armenian Archbishop formed part of the Christian delegation which received the new ruler.

In the time of the Crusades [1099-1187], the Armenians were to be found in big numbers in all the cities of Palestine. A well-defined Armenian Quarter can be found on all Crusader maps of Jerusalem. There was a lot of human traffic between Cilicia [Lesser Armenia] and Palestine. Relations became more cordial on account of royal marriages. The first three queens of Jerusalem [Arda, Morphia and Melisend] were princesses from Armenia. The Armenian Monastery of St. James enjoyed royal patronage. Members of the Armenian royal house frequently came on pilgrimage to Jerusalem .In the middle of the crusader period [1151], The Monastery of St. James was expanded to its present dimensions.

Saladin, who conquered the Holy Land and forced the Crusaders to leave, also had special regard for the Armenians. When he captured Jerusalem in 1187, he exempted the Armenian population of the city [around tow thousand people] from head tax. In later times, Patriarch Gregory the Chain-Bearer [1715-1749] left his mark on history of the Armenian Patriarchate. He salvaged the Patriarchate from heavy debts incurred because of Ottoman taxation. He also embellished the Cathedral of St. James and constructed many new buildings within the Armenian Quarter.

In the nineteenth century, great changes took place in the quarter. Many new buildings were constructed. Among them, there were the seminary and the residence of the Patriarch. In 1833, the Armenian Patriarchate opened the first printing press in Jerusalem.

This press is still active today, and it has published more than a thousand titled. In 1855 the first local workshop of photography was started in the Armenian Quarter. The Armenians thus were pioneers in two areas of technology in the nineteenth century Jerusalem. In addition to this, in 1857, they opened a museum and organized and catalogued their library of manuscripts. The Patriarchate has a major collection of four thousand ancient manuscripts which are housed in the chapel of St.Thoros. Among them are many Medieval manuscripts of great artistic value. Because of its Philosophical and patristic texts, this collection is of a great importance for scholars. From the fifth until the eighth century, the Armenian monks translated the whole body of Greek and Syrian literature into the Armenian language. Today, many classical texts which have been destroyed in their original have survived in Armenian translations. In the beginning of the twentieth century, the Patriarchate was endowed with a huge public library [the Gulbenkian library], which has more than one hundred and twenty thousand specialized books.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whose jurisdiction extends over Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan, is one of the custodians holy places for Christianity; i.e. the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the church of the Nativity, and the Tomb of our Lady. The Patriarchate is run by the Brotherhood of St. James, which has fifty members. Some of them serve abroad. The Armenian Patriarchate has a mother monastery of St. James and four other convents. There are about a dozen churches and chapels within the Armenian Quarter. Around five thousand Armenians live in Israel and Palestine today.

G. G. H., Who's Who in Jerusalem
Used by permission of the author.