Syria Trails › Places

Church of the Forty Martyrs (Armenian Apostolic)

كنيسة الأربعين شهيداً (الأرمن الأرثوذكس)

An Armenian Apostolic church in the Christian quarter of Old Damascus, carrying special symbolism as a site commemorating the victims of the Armenian genocide.

The Church of the Forty Martyrs (Armenian Apostolic) sits in the Christian quarter of Old Damascus, one of the important churches for the Armenian community in Damascus, large numbers of whom settled in the city in the early 20th century following the events of the Armenian genocide under Ottoman rule.

The church carries special symbolism for Armenians, serving as a site for annually commemorating the victims of those tragic events, and houses a memorial and artifacts connected to the memory and diaspora history of the Armenian community after their forced displacement from their homeland.

With its simple architecture and calm spiritual character, the church reflects part of the religious and ethnic diversity that migrant communities added to the Damascene social fabric in the past century, as Damascus became a second homeland for tens of thousands of Armenians who preserved their language, culture, and religious rites across generations.

The Church of the Forty Martyrs is well worth a visit for anyone interested in Armenian history in the Middle East, and in the lesser-known aspects of religious and cultural diversity in Old Damascus.

For the visitor