On July 1, 1846, the Armenian Evangelical Church was established in Constantinople, which constituted in its practices a return to the simplicity of original Christianity.

The Reform Movement, from which the Armenian Evangelical Church emerged, caused an awakening in the spiritual, as well as in the educational systems. Consequently, at the beginning of the 19th century, dozens of primary and secondary schools for boys and girls were established in the Armenian communities of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1955, in the city of Beirut, Lebanon, Haigazian College (now University) was founded, the only institute of higher education in the Armenian Diaspora.

In 1918, Armenian immigrants in the United States of America founded the Armenian Missionary Association of America, a missionary arm to help educational, religious and relief programs in various parts of the world.

Today in the 21st century, as members of the Armenian Diaspora and as Armenian Evangelicals, we feel the challenge of living up to the historical moment in which we live, as were those thirty-seven men and three women, who on July 1, 1846, established the Armenian Evangelical Church in Constantinople.

We live in a time where, despite great scientific discoveries and social changes, we are facing the same challenges on both ethical and moral levels as always. Observing the sadness in the world we see that many times people have not been able to have authentic inner peace or in relationships with others, not knowing that we have the same Father God and that we are all brothers and sisters.

In the face of sin and the complexities of human experiences, we, as churches have the challenge of being the light among the shadows, making known in word and action the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” John 14:6

Also, as members of the Armenian nation charged with sensitivity to the historical injustices suffered by our Nation, we have the challenge of desiring and being protagonists in the face of the pains of the world, of a Peace based on Justice and based on Law for the Armenian nation and for all nations of the world.

As descendants of the Armenian nation, who in 301AD was the first in the world to accept Christianity as its official religion, and as successors of the founders of the Armenian Evangelical Church, according to our vocations, let us continue working and proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ who makes all things new. Only then life is worth and will be worth living.