Forty Martyrs Armenian Church in Aleppo Destroyed

ALEPPO (Armenian Weekly)—The Armenian Church of Forty Martyrs in Judayda, Aleppo, has been destroyed. Some sources reported that the church was bombed with explosives placed underneath the structure through underground tunnels; others claimed the destruction was due to shelling.

The Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern U.S. confirmed the destruction of the church to the Armenian Weekly.

The Forty Martyrs Church dates back to the 15th century. The first mention of the church appeared in the second edition of the book, The Exploit of the Holy Bible, by Father Melikseth in 1476. The bell tower was built in 1912. The Church housed khatchkars, relics, and icons, including “The Last Judgment,” a painting that dates back to 1703.

The Church was at the center of Armenian community life in Aleppo, where for centuries religious and cultural initiatives took place.

The destruction of the Forty Martyrs Church comes about four months after terrorists bombed the Armenian Catholic Cathedral Our Lady of Pity (also known as St. Rita), located next to the Armenian Catholic Archeparchy of Aleppo, leaving the church partly destroyed. In September 2014, terrorists destroyed the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Der Zor, Syria—considered the Auschwitz of the Armenian Genocide.

Before the start of the Syrian crisis in the spring of 2011, between 60,000-70,000 Armenians called Syria home, constituting less than 0.5 percent of the country’s total population. More than half of them lived in Aleppo, with the other half scattered in such cities as Latakia, Homs, Qamishli, Hasakeh, Yaqubiye, Raqqa, Kessab, and the capital Damascus.