Total population | |
---|---|
3,000 [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Amman, Ma'an, Shobak, Al Karak, Madaba, Russeifa, Zarqa, Irbid, Aqaba | |
Languages | |
Armenian, Jordanian Arabic [2] | |
Religion | |
Armenian Apostolic Church |
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Armenians in Jordan are ethnic Armenians living in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. There are an estimated 3,000 Armenians living in the country today with an estimated 2,500 of them being members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, [1] and predominantly speak Western Armenian dialect. [3] Armenians make up the biggest majority of non-Arab Christians in the country. [4]
There were about 6,000 Armenians living in Jordan during the period 1930-1946. After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, a new wave of immigrants came from Palestine to Jordan increasing the number of Armenians to about 10,000. However starting in the 1950s, and particularly after the 1967 Arab-Israeli Six-Day War, Jordan witnessed the emigration of many Armenians to Australia, Canada and the United States a trend that continued in the 1970s, reducing the numbers of Jordanian Armenians to about 3,000.
The majority of these Armenians are the descendants of survivors from the Armenian genocide during World War I who were deported from the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia and Cilicia or fled to Syria and then Jordan. The early Armenian refugees in Jordan resided mainly in places like Ma'an, Shobak, Al Karak and Madaba and Russeifa. Nowadays, the majority of the Armenians lives in the capital Amman, with a few families in Irbid, Aqaba, Madaba and Zarqa.
Armenians have worked in photography, fashion, car mechanics and in professional businesses and small trade.
Most Armenian organizations and schools and religious structures are located in Amman's Jabal Al-Ashrafieh neighborhood also commonly called the Armenian Neighborhood (in Arabic : حي الأرمن pronounced Hayy al-Arman).
While most Armenians have now moved out of the Armenian quarter in Amman, the Armenian quarter currently comprises two Armenian churches.
Armenians in Jordan are mainly followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church, under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The patriarch of Jerusalem assigns a bishop to the Jordanian diocese. A small minority of Armenians in Jordan belong to the Armenian Catholic Church.
The churches:
Armenian education is very important in maintaining Armenian language and identity among the Armenian community in Jordan. Amman is host to many Armenian institutions, long-running schools and cultural associations. Armenian students, who graduate from those community schools, can immediately enter the Jordanian High school system, after passing the elementary school classes.
First Armenian school was founded in Jabal Al-Natheef in Amman . Called Hetoumyan Azkayeen Varjaran, it operated in the 1930s. Another smaller school operated in Russeifa founded by Samuel Agha Serpekian.
Currently, two Armenian elementary schools operate in Amman:
The majority of Armenian organizations are based in Amman. Those organizations aim to serve as a gathering for members of the Armenian community through engaging in various activities such as arts and culture, sports, dance, scouting, women activities, youth and charitable associations, and celebration of national events.
Armenians in Jordan participated in many of Jordan national leagues and Sport tournaments presented by the two clubs in Jordan Homenetmen and Watany Sporting Club.
WSC currently have a Chess Team and active in Jordan League tournaments, and hosted many tournaments on the occasion of King Abdullah's Birthday and Jordan Independence Day for the last decade.
Basketball is the most prominent of the activities of the two Armenian sports clubs Watany Sporting Club and Homenetmen. They both had prominent basketball teams and played in the official Jordanian Basketball League in first and second division starting 1950s and until the 1990s.
Some Jordanian Armenian players have represented Jordan and were members of the Jordanian National Basketball Team. In addition, Watany Sporting Club won Jordanian Basketball League tournament in 1963.
Madaba is the capital city of Madaba Governorate in central Jordan, with a population of about 60,000. It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of the Holy Land. Madaba is located 30 kilometres south-west of the capital Amman.
Armenians in Egypt are a community with a long history. They are a minority with their own language, churches, and social institutions. The number of Armenians in Egypt has decreased due to migrations to other countries and integration into the rest of Egyptian society, including extensive intermarriage with Muslims and Christians. Today they number about 6000, much smaller than a few generations ago. They are concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria, the two largest cities. Economically the Egyptian Armenians have tended to be self-employed businessmen or craftsmen and to have more years of education than the Egyptian average.
Armenians have lived in Lebanon for centuries. According to Minority Rights Group International, there are 156,000 Armenians in Lebanon, around 4% of the population. Prior to the Lebanese Civil War, the number was higher, but the community lost a portion of its population to emigration.
Homenetmen is a pan-Armenian diaspora organization devoted to sport and scouting. The motto of Homenetmen is "Rise and Raise".
Jordan contains one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, their presence dating back to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ early in the 1st century AD. Christians today make up about 3% of the population. Jordanian Christians in a country of almost 10 million are thought to number 250,000-400,000, down from 20% in 1930, but their absolute numbers have increased. This is due to high immigration rate of Muslims into Jordan, higher emigration rates of Christians and higher birth rates for Muslims. All Christian religious ceremonies are allowed to be publicly celebrated in Jordan.
The Armenians in Syria are Syrian citizens of either full or partial Armenian descent.
Jordan is a sovereign Arab state in the Middle East. The capital, Amman, is Jordan's most populous city as well as the country's economic, political and cultural centre.
Armenian Australians refers to Australians of Armenian national background or descent. They have become one of the key Armenian diasporas around the world and among the largest in the English-speaking world.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also known as the Armenian Patriarchate of Saint James, is located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The Armenian Apostolic Church is officially recognised under Israel's confessional system, for the self-regulation of status issues, such as marriage and divorce.
Armenians in Israel and Palestine make up a community of approximately 5,000–6,000 Armenians living in both Israel and the State of Palestine.
Armenians in United Arab Emirates refers to ethnic Armenians living in the United Arab Emirates. They number around 5,000.
Homenetmen Sports Association Beirut, or simply Homenetmen, is a football club based in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the Lebanese Fourth Division. It is the association football branch of the larger Lebanese-Armenian multi-sports and scouting organisation of the same name.
German-Jordanian University (GJU) is a public university located near Madaba, Jordan. It offers more than 20 programs to over 6,000 students, primarily from Jordan and the Middle East. The curriculum differs from other Jordanian universities, with German language courses offered as preparation for the fourth academic year at a university of applied sciences in Germany and an introduction to German industry through an obligatory internship within the framework of the study program.
Al-Maghtas, officially known as Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan", is an archaeological World Heritage Site in Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River, reputed to be the original location of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and venerated as such since at least the Byzantine period. The place has also been referred to as Bethabara and historically Bethany.
Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader is a Jordanian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic and apostolic delegate to Puerto Rico. He was Archbishop of Algiers from 2008 to 2015.
The Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem and Amman is the missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction of the Armenian Catholic Church sui iuris in the Holy Land (Palestine/Israel) and (Trans)Jordan.
The Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Qamishli is a suffragan eparchy of the Armenian Catholic Church sui iuris in the Patriarch's own ecclesiastical province 'of Cilicia', serving part of Syria.
Our Lady of the Annunciation Church or simply Church of Jabal Webdeh is a Catholic parish in Jabal al-Luweibdeh in the city of Amman.
Jabal al-Ashrafieh is a town and neighbourhood in Amman, Jordan. Located in East Amman, it is the highest point in the city and it features many services, such as schools, restaurants, and shopfronts. The town is renowned for its mosques and churches, in addition to being encircled by many historical buildings. Other spelling variants and forms of the town's name include, Ashrafia, Ashrafieh, Jabal al-Ashrafiyah, Jebel Ashrafiya and Jebel El Ashrafiya.