Armenian Cypriots

Solidus of Emperor Maurice

Armenians have had a presence in Cyprus since the 6th-century.[5] According to Theophylact Simocatta, an early 7th-century Byzantine writer, the Byzantine General Maurice the Cappadocian captured 10,090 Armenians as prisoners during his campaign against the Persian King Chosroes I; around 3,350 of these prisoners were deported to Cyprus.[6] More Armenians arrived during the reign of Armenian-descended Emperor Heraclius for political reasons and also during the pontificate of Catholicos Hovhannes III Odznetsi for commercial reasons. Flowing on, after the end of Arab raids in Cyprus, more arrived by the patrician Niketas Chalkoutzes for military reasons, when Armenian mercenaries were transferred to Cyprus to protect it. In the middle Byzantine period, Armenian generals and governors served in Cyprus, like Alexios Mousele or Mousere who undertook the construction of Saint Lazarus' basilica in Larnaca. It appears that Saint Lazarus' church had been an Armenian Apostolic church in the 10th century and was used by Armenian-Catholics during the Latin Era as well. The numerous Armenians required an analogous spiritual pastorate, and so in 973 Catholicos Khatchig I established the Armenian Bishopric in Nicosia. Relations between Cyprus and the Armenians became closer when the Kingdom of Cilicia was established. Between 1136–1138, Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus moved the entire population of the Armenian city of Tell Hamdun to Cyprus. After Isaac Comnenus' wedding to the daughter of the Armenian prince Thoros II in 1185, Armenian nobles and warriors came with him to Cyprus, many of whom defended the island against Richard the Lionheart, when he landed in Limassol.[7]

Saint Lazarus' basilica in Larnaca

After the purchase of Cyprus by titular Frankish King of Jerusalem Guy de Lusignan in 1192, in his attempt to establish a western-type feudal kingdom, the latter sent emissaries to Europe, Cilicia and the Levant, resulting in a massive immigration of Armenians and other peoples. Because of their proximity, their commercial ties and a series of royal and nobility marriages, the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Kingdom of Cilicia became inextricably linked. In the subsequent centuries, thousands of Cilician Armenians sought refuge in Cyprus fleeing the Muslim attacks such as the Fall of Antioch. Cyprus became now the easternmost bulwark of Christianity; in 1441 the authorities of Famagusta invited Armenians from Cilicia to settle there. The Fall of Sis in April 1375 put an end to the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia; its last King, Levon V, was granted safe passage to Cyprus. Although the Egyptian Mamelukes had taken over Cilicia, they were unable to maintain their hold on it; Turkic tribes eventually made their way to the region and established themselves there, leading to the conquest of Cilicia by Tamerlane. As a result, 30,000 Armenians left Cilicia in 1403 and settled in Cyprus, which continued to be ruled by the Lusignan dynasty until 1489.[8] During the Frankish and the Venetian Eras, there were Armenian churches in Nicosia, Famagusta, Spathariko. Armenians were amongst the seven most important religious groups in Cyprus, in possession of stores and shops in the ports of Famagusta, Limassol and Paphos, as well as in the capital Nicosia, thus controlling a large segment of commerce. Additionally, Armenian was one of the eleven official languages of the Kingdom of Cyprus. According to chroniclers Leontios Makhairas, Georgios Boustronios and Florio Bustron, the Armenians of Nicosia had their own Prelature and used to live in their own quarter, called Armenia or Armenoyitonia. In Famagusta, a Bishopric was established in the late 12th century and Armenians lived around the Syrian quarter. Historical documents suggest the presence of an important monastic and theological centre there, at which Saint Nerses Lampronatsi is said to have studied.

During the Middle Ages, Armenians in Cyprus were actively engaged in commerce, while some of them formed military garrisons in Kyrenia and elsewhere. A number of Armenians defended the Frankish Kingdom of Cyprus against the Genoese at Xeros, against the Saracens at Stylli village and against the Mamelukes in Limassol and Khirokitia. By 1425, the renowned Magaravank – originally the Coptic monastery of Saint Makarios near Halevga came under Armenian possession, as did sometime before 1504 the Benedictine/Carthusian nunnery of Notre Dame de Tyre or Tortosa in walled Nicosia. During the Latin Era, there was also a small number of Armenian Catholics in Nicosia, Famagusta and the Bellapais Abbey, where Lord Hayton of Corycus served as a monk. The prosperity of the inhabitants of Cyprus was brought to a halt by the harsh and corrupt Venetian administration and the iniquitous taxes they imposed. Their tyrannical rule, combined with adverse conditions, caused a noticeable decline in the island's population. According to historian Stephen de Lusignan, by the late Venetian Era, Armenians lived mainly in Famagusta and Nicosia and, in small numbers, at three "Armenian villages", Platani, Kornokipos and Spathariko.

The Magaravank monastery (1967)

During the Ottoman conquest of the island, about 40,000 Ottoman-Armenian craftsmen were recruited. Many of the Ottoman Armenians who survived the conquest settled mainly in Nicosia, increasing its Armenian population, while the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus was recognised as an Ethnarchy, through the millet institution. However, the Bishopric in Famagusta was abolished, as the Christian population was slaughtered or expelled and the entire walled city became forbidden for non-Muslims. As a reward for their services during the conquest, the Armenians of Nicosia were granted the right to guard Paphos Gate. However this privilege was used only for a short period. By a firman, they were given back the Notre Dame de Tyre church, which the Ottomans had turned into a salt store. Additionally, the Magaravank monastery had won the favour of the Ottomans and became an important way station for Armenian and other pilgrims en route to the Holy Land, as well as a place of rest for travellers and Catholicoi and other clergymen from Cilicia and Jerusalem. Contrary to the Latins and the Maronites, Armenians – being Oriental Orthodox rather than Catholic – were not persecuted because of their religion by the Ottomans. Even though about 20,000 Armenians lived in Cyprus during the very first years of the Ottoman Era, by 1630 only 2,000 Armenians remained, out of a total of 56,530 inhabitants.

The Eramian Farm House in Pano Deftera

In the Bedesten, there were many Armenian merchants and in the late 18th century/early 19th century Nicosia's leading citizen was an Armenian trader called Sarkis, who was a "beratli" and was initially the dragoman for the French Consul, before becoming the dragoman for the English Consul. Gifted with the acumen of industry, Armenians practised lucrative professions and in the beginning of the 17th century Persian Armenians settled in Cyprus as silk traders, as did some affluent Ottoman-Armenians in the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Boghos-Berge Agha Eramian. However, with the new order of things, the number of Armenians and other Christians dramatically declined due to the onerous taxation and the harshness of the Ottoman administration, compelling many Christians to become Linobambaki, Crypto-Christians, which explains why former Armenian villages were inhabited by Turkish-Cypriots at the end of the 19th century. A few Armenian-Cypriots became Catholics through marriage with affluent Roman Catholic families.

Gradually, after the bloody 1821 events, the Ottomans destroyed the Armenian and Greek mansions, prohibited Greeks, Franks, Armenians and Maronites from carrying guns and hanged or massacred 470 notables, amongst them the Armenian parish priest of Nicosia, der Bedros, some improvements were observed during the Tanzimat period. In the spirit of the Hatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane, the Armenian Bishop, the Greek Archbishop and the Maronite Suffragan Bishop participated in the Administrative Council, which was formed in 1840. After 1850, some Armenians were employed in the civil service, while in 1860 the Notre Dame de Tyre became amongst the first in Cyprus to have a belfry. Additionally, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 benefited the Armenian and other merchants of the island, while in 1870 the first Armenian school was established in Nicosia by newly arrived Archimandrite Vartan Mamigonian. Furthermore, as a result of the Hatt-ı Hümayun in 1856, the administrative autonomy of the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus was officially recognised. Based on various estimates, the Armenian-Cypriot community of the 19th century numbered between 150–250 persons, the majority of whom lived in Nicosia, with smaller numbers living in Famagusta, Larnaca, the north and south of the capital and, naturally, around the Magaravank.[7]

Geographical distribution of Armenian-Cypriots

With the arrival of the British in July 1878 and their progressive administration, the already small Armenian community of the island was particularly strengthened. Known for their linguistic skills, several Armenians were contracted to Cyprus to work as interpreters and public servants at the consulates and the British administration, such as Apisoghom Utidjian. The number of Armenians in Cyprus significantly increased following the massive deportations, the massacres and the Genocide perpetrated by the Ottomans and the Young Turks. Cyprus welcomed over 10,000 refugees from Cilicia, Smyrna and Constantinople, who arrived in Larnaca and all its other harbours, about 1,500 of them made the island their new home. Industrious, cultivated and progressive, they brought new life into the old community and establish themselves as people of the arts, letters and sciences, entrepreneurs and merchants, craftsmen and photographers, as well as professionals who introduced new crafts, dishes and sweets to the island, thus contributing to Cyprus' socioeconomic and cultural development.[9] The newcomers established associations, choirs, sports groups, Scout groups, bands, churches, schools and cemeteries throughout Cyprus. Armenians were the first locksmiths, mechanics, seat, comb and stamp makers, upholsterers, watchmakers and zincographers in Cyprus. They were the first to introduce the cinema, they significantly improved the craft of shoemaking and it was Armenians who first introduced Armenian bastourma, baklava, dried apricots, gassosa, gyros, halva, ice cubes, koubes, lahmadjoun, lokmadhes and pompes into the Cypriot cuisine. Armenians also introduced two techniques of embroidery needlework: the Aintab work and the Marash work.

Victoria Road, Nicosia of the Armenian Quarter in the 1930s

Law-abiding by nature, Armenian-Cypriots always had a high-profile with the British administration and many became conscientious civil servants and disciplined policemen or were employed at the Cyprus Government Railway and at Cable and Wireless. Throughout the 1920s–1950s, many worked at the asbestos mines at Amiandos and the copper mines at Mavrovouni and Skouriotissa, some of whom had been trade unionists. Some Armenian-Cypriots participated in the 1897 Greco-Turkish War, the two World Wars and the EOKA struggle. Also, the Eastern Legion was formed and trained between December 1916 and May 1918 in Monarga village, near Boghazi, consisting of over 4,000 Diasporan Armenian volunteers who fought against the Ottoman Empire. Some Armenian refugees arrived from Palestine and Egypt.[8] The Armenian-Cypriot community prospered throughout the British Era, by establishing associations. In many ways unique across the whole Armenian Diaspora, it was built just outside Nicosia between 1924–1926, after the generous and benevolent donation of the Egyptian-Armenian tobacco trading brothers Krikor and Garabed Melkonian, initially in order to shelter and educate 500 orphans of the Genocide, who planted the trees in front of the school in memory of their slaughtered relatives. From an orphanage (1926–1940), it gradually became a world-renowned secondary school with a boarding section.[10]

The end of the EOKA struggle found Armenian-Cypriots having forged strong bonds with the rest of the Cypriots. The 1960 Independence brought a new era for the Armenians of Cyprus, who – together with the Maronite and Roman Catholics – were recognised as a "religious group" by the Cypriot Constitution and were now represented by an elected Representative. The size of the community, however, had been reduced because of the emigration of about 900 Armenian-Cypriots to the United Kingdom, due to the emergency situation caused by the EOKA struggle and the poor state of the local economy. A second factor that contributed to the reduction of the community's size was the emigration of about 600 Armenian-Cypriots to Soviet Armenia, as part of the pan-Armenian movement for repatriation.[11]

During the intercommunal Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, the Armenian-Cypriot community suffered major losses, as the Armenian quarter of Nicosia fell into the Turkish Cypriot-controlled area: taken were the Prelature building, the mediaeval Notre Dame de Tyre, the Melikian-Ouzounian school, the Genocide Monument, the club houses of the Armenian Club, AYMA and Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), as well as the Armenian Evangelical church; also taken was the mediaeval Ganchvor church in Famagusta. In total, 231 Armenian-Cypriot families became victims and/or lost their shops and enterprises. As a result, hundreds of Armenian-Cypriots left for Great Britain, Canada, Australia and the United States.[9] After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the Armenian-Cypriot community suffered additional losses, several families became refugees, the renowned Magaravank monastery in Pentadhaktylos was taken by the Turkish troops, the Melkonian boys dormitory was bombed by the Turkish Air Force, while the Ayios Dhometios Armenian cemetery was hit by mortars and fell within the buffer zone. As a result, dozens of Armenian-Cypriots emigrated, mainly to Great Britain. In total, about 1,300 Armenian-Cypriots left Cyprus in the 1960s and 1970s, in addition to those who emigrated to Soviet Armenia.[7]

Demonstration on the Armenian Genocide and Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993

With the unfailing support of the government, the small yet industrious Armenian community of Cyprus gradually managed to recover from its losses and continued to prosper in the remaining urban areas, contributing culturally and socioeconomically to the development. On 24 April 1975, Cyprus became the first European country to recognise the Armenian Genocide with Resolution 36/1975; two more resolutions followed, Resolution 74/1982 and Resolution 103/1990, with the latter declaring 24 April as a National Remembrance Day of the Armenian Genocide in Cyprus. Over the past decades, the dynamics of the Armenian-Cypriot community have changed with the increased number of marriages with Greek-Cypriots and other non-Armenians, and the arrival over the last 30–35 years of thousands of Armenian political and economic immigrants because of the civil war in Lebanon, the insurgencies in Syria, the Islamic revolution in Iran and the Iran–Iraq War, as well as after the Spitak earthquake and the dissolution of the Soviet Union; some of them have settled permanently in Cyprus. According to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe, the Armenian language – the mother tongue of the vast majority of Armenian-Cypriots – was recognised as a minority language of Cyprus on 1 December 2002. Today, it is estimated that the Armenians living in Cyprus number about 3,500. In Cyprus there is also a small number of Armenians coming from Ethiopia, Greece, Kuwait, Turkey and the United Kingdom.[12]

With regard to local administration, the Armenian participation has been limited. Traditionally, there is the appointed mukhtar of Nicosia's Karaman Zade quarter (the Armenian Quarter). So far, there have been 4 mukhtars: Melik Melikian (1927–1949), Kasbar Delyfer (1949–1956), Vahe Kouyoumdjian (1956–2009) and Mgo Kouyoumdjian (2011–today). Bedros Amirayan served as an appointed member of Famagusta's municipal committee (1903–1905), Dr. Antranik L. Ashdjian served as an appointed municipal councillor and, later on, Vice Mayor, for Nicosia (1964–1970), while Berge Kevorkian served as an appointed municipal councillor for Nicosia (1970–1986).

With the exception of the elected Representatives, so far there has been only one Armenian-Cypriot MP in the House of Representatives, Marios Garoyian. He was elected as an MP for Nicosia District on 21 May 2006 with the Democratic Party and in October 2006 he became the party's President. After the election of Demetris Christofias as President of the Republic of Cyprus in February 2008, Marios Garoyian was voted Speaker of the House of Representatives on 6 March 2008, the second highest political position in Cyprus. He was re-elected as an MP for Nicosia District on 22 May 2011 and he served as House Speaker until 2 June 2011.

Despite its relatively small size, the Armenian-Cypriot community has been an active participant in Panarmenian politics already since the late 19th century, even though this became more established in the mid-20th century. All three major Armenian Diaspora parties are active in Cyprus, especially ARF Dashnaktsoutiun. It established its presence in Cyprus as early as in 1897 and it continued to be present on and off on the island until the early years of the 20th century. At that time, Cyprus was frequently used as a stepping stone for some European Armenian fedayees who had Asia Minor and Cilicia as their final destination. However, after the Armenian Genocide, the party presence became minimal, save for individual members, supporters and/or sympathisers, until it was re-organised after World War II and was officially re-established in 1947; its chapter is called "Karenian", after Armen Karo, who briefly visited Cyprus, in order to organise the assembly of weapons for the Zeitoun Resistance.

ARF Dashnaktsoutiun is affiliated with the Armenian Young Men's Association (AYMA) in Nicosia, the Armenian Club in Larnaca and the Limassol Armenian Young Men's Association (LHEM) in Limassol, as well as with the Armenian National Committee of Cyprus, the Armenian Youth Federation of Cyprus, the "Azadamard" Armenian Youth Centre, the Armenian Relief Society of Cyprus and the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Association of Cyprus, all based in Nicosia. The Armenian Relief Society chapter of Cyprus is called "Sosse", after Sosse Mayrig, who visited Cyprus in the summer of 1938, while the Hamazkayin chapter of Cyprus is called "Oshagan", after Hagop Oshagan, who had been a professor at the Melkonian Educational Institute between 1926–1934.

The ADL Ramgavar first appeared in Cyprus in the early 1930s, in the form of a core of party members. It also participated in the Diocesan Council elections of 1947, which caused a very big stir in community life. However, the party has officially been active in Cyprus since 1956. Its chapter is called Tekeyan, after Vahan Tekeyan, who had been a professor at the Melkonian Educational Institute between 1934–1935.[14] The party has never been very active on the island, mainly because it was overshadowed by the significant presence of the AGBU, affiliated with ADL Ramgavar. Both organisations lost a substantial number of followers, when they "repatriated" to Armenia between 1962–1964, as part of the nerkaght (ներգաղթ – repatriation) movement and when they realized that what was promised was not real.

The youngest Armenian political party in Cyprus is SDHP Hunchakian, which was set up on the island in 2005, following the split within the AGBU, which was brought about by the decision to close the Melkonian Educational Institute. It must be noted, though, that as Cyprus was frequently used as a stepping stone for some European Armenian fedayees who had Asia Minor and Cilicia as their final destination during the late 19th century and the early 20th century, a small number of the party's members temporarily stayed on the island during those times. SDHP Hunchakian is affiliated with the Nor Serount Cultural Association in Nicosia.

The Armenian-Cypriot community has been actively engaged in Panarmenian issues, such as the organisation of demonstrations and other forms of protest on matters that pertain to all Armenians. Other than promoting awareness and recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which is more extensively examined below, the Armenian-Cypriot community has been lobbying successfully in favour of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, as a result of which Cypriot politicians and EuroMPs are sympathetic towards its existence. During the last decade, the Armenian-Cypriot community was actively involved in the movement to raise awareness on the unilateral closure of the Melkonian Educational Institute by the AGBU (2004–2005), the Armenia-Turkey protocols and the extradition of Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan (2012), as well as in events commemorating Hrant Dink's memory, organised every year since his murder in 2007.

Finally, in recent years the Armenian-Cypriot community has been providing financial and humanitarian aid to Armenians in need around the world: it has provided assistance to earthquake-stricken Armenians in Armenia, after the 1988 earthquake, to orphans in Nagorno-Karabakh, to Armenians in Lebanon, Armenians in Greece and Armenians in Syria, as well as to Armenians in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, through the "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund.

Armenian Genocide memorial service with the participation of Greek-Cypriot politicians (2008)

On the level of the ordinary people, most Cypriots are aware of the great calamity the Armenian nation suffered during 1894–1923 and have always been supportive and sympathetic towards Armenians; the Armenian Genocide refugees who remained in Cyprus were in the unique position of escaping from Ottoman Turks and living amicably amongst Turkish-Cypriots.

Cyprus has been one of the pioneering countries in recognising the Armenian Genocide, when on 25 January 1965 Foreign Minister Spyros Kyprianou first raised the issue to the General Assembly of the United Nations. Prior to his powerful speech, a delegation comprising ARF Dashnaktsoutiun Bureau members Dr. Papken Papazian and Berj Missirlian, as well as Armenian National Committee of Cyprus members Anania Mahdessian and Vartkes Sinanian, handed him a memorandum urging Cyprus' support in raising the issue at the United Nations.[15]

Cyprus was also the first European country (and the second world-wide, after Uruguay) to officially recognise the Armenian Genocide. On 24 April 1975, after the determined efforts and the submission by Representative Dr. Antranik L. Ashdjian, Resolution 36 was voted unanimously by the House of Representatives. Representative Aram Kalaydjian was instrumental in passing unanimously through the House of Representatives two more resolutions regarding the Armenian Genocide: Resolution 74/29–04–1982, submitted by the Foreign Relations' Parliamentary Committee, and Resolution 103/19–04–1990, submitted by all parliamentary parties. Resolution 103 declared 24 April as a National Remembrance Day of the Armenian Genocide in Cyprus.

Since 1965, when Cypriot government officials started participating in the annual Armenian Genocide functions, Cyprus' political leaders are often keynote speakers in those functions organised to commemorate the Armenian Genocide. Over the last years, there is usually a march starting from the centre of Nicosia and ending at the Virgin Mary church in Strovolos, where a commemorative event takes place in front of the Armenian Genocide Monument; other events also take place, such as blood donations.

• AYMA [Armenian Young Men's Association/Հայ Երիտասարդաց Միութիւն (Hay Yeridasartats Mioutiun)]. Established by a group of young Armenian men in Nicosia in October 1934, it is the leading Armenian-Cypriot club and the centre of the social, sports and cultural life of the Armenian-Cypriot community. After it was housed in various rented places, it acquired its own club house in 1961 in Tanzimat street, purchased for the sum of £6,000. As the club house was taken over during the 1963–1964 intercommunal violence, AYMA fell in the Turkish Cypriot-controlled area, as was the rest of the historical Armenian Quarter of Nicosia. It was then housed in various rented places. Its own premises, built between 1985–1986 by architects Marios & Nicos Santamas, are located at the corner of Alasia and Valtetsi streets, near the Virgin Mary church in Strovolos, Nicosia, on land leased by the government (Decision of the Council of Ministers 21.188/17–12–1981), and were inaugurated on 30 May 1987 by President Spyros Kyprianou. There is a well-organised library room at the club house. Its renovated and expanded functions hall was inaugurated on 28 February 2010 by Representative Vartkes Mahdessian. AYMA is affiliated with the Homenetmen Panarmenian organisation.
• Armenian Youth Federation of Cyprus [Կիպրոսի Երիտասարդական Միութիւն (Gibrosi Yeridasartagan Mioutiun), 1977]. It edifies children, teenagers and young adults.
• Armenian Relief Society of Cyprus [Հայ Օգնութեան Միութիւն (Hay Oknoutian Mioutiun), also known as HOM (ՀՕՄ), "Sosse" chapter, 1988]. It is a women's charity organization, which sends help to Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian Diaspora and local charity organisations.
• Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Association of Cyprus [Համազգային Հայ Կրթական եւ Մշակութային Միութիւն (Hamazkayin Hay Grtagan yev Mshagoutayin Mioutiun), "Oshagan" chapter, 1999]. It organizes various cultural events, such as dance and theatre performances, art exhibitions, lectures etc.

The building of the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus in Strovolos, Nicosia

The Armenian Prelature of Cyprus was established in 973 by Catholicos Khatchig I. Historically, the Prelature has been under the jurisdiction of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, while today it is the oldest theme that falls under its jurisdiction. Since 2014 the Prelate, a Catholicosal Vicar General, has been Archbishop Nareg Alemezian. The parish priest in Nicosia is Fr. Momik Habeshian, while the parish priest in Larnaca and Limassol is Fr. Mashdots Ashkarian. For centuries, the Prelature building was located within the Armenian compound in Victoria street in walled Nicosia; when that area was taken over by Turkish-Cypriot extremists in 1963–1964, the Prelature was temporarily housed in Aram Ouzounian street and, later on, in Kyriakos Matsis street in Ayios Dhometios. Thanks to the efforts of Bishop Zareh Aznavorian and with financial aid from the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, the new Prelature building was erected in 1983, next to the Sourp Asdvadzadzin church and the Nareg school in Nicosia, by architects Athos Dikaios & Alkis Dikaios; it was officially inaugurated on 4 March 1984, during the pastoral visit of Catholicos Karekin II. By initiative of Archbishop Varoujan Hergelian, in 1998 the basement of the building was renovated and the "Vahram Utidjian" Hall was formed; previously a store room, it became a reality from the proceeds of the auction in 1994 of the art collection that Vahram Utidjian had donated to the Prelature in 1954. It was inaugurated on 3 February 1999 by Catholicos Aram I; numerous charity, communal and cultural events take place there. The Prelature's consistory houses a collection of ecclesiastical relics, some of which were previously in the old Notre Dame de Tyre church or the Magaravank.

The first Armenian Evangelicals in Cyprus came after the arrival of the British in July 1878. As they were not committed, and very few, they quickly became associated with the Armenian Apostolic Church. With the influx of more Protestants, Armenian Evangelicals became affiliated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church as early as 1887. In 1933, the newly formed Cyprus Synod of the |Reformed Presbyterian Church divided its congregations into Armenian and Greek councils. Armenian Evangelicals were granted provisional autonomy from the Reformed Presbyterian Mission in 1954, which was formalised in 1962. In Larnaca, Armenian Evangelicals dwindled after the inter-communal troubles of 1963–1964, services were no longer held; in Nicosia, the Armenian Evangelical church fell into Turkish-Cypriot control during the inter-communal troubles and so services were then held at the American Academy chapel until 1973. After nearly 30 years of inactivity, by initiative of Nouvart Kassouni-Panayiotides and Lydia Gulesserian and with the help of Hrayr Jebejian, Executive Secretary of the Bible Society in the Gulf Armenian Evangelicals were re-organised at the Greek Evangelical church in Larnaca in 2002. Since 2005, when Hrayr Jebejian moved to Cyprus, services are held every few months at the Greek Evangelical church in Nicosia. Also, the Armenian Evangelical Church organizes a few lectures in Nicosia.

The Bellapais Abbey (early 20th century)

Armenian-Catholics first came to the island during the Frankish Era from the nearby Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. It is unclear whether they had their own structure during the Latin Era or if they were under the Latin Church of Cyprus, as has been the case since the Ottoman Era. During the Ottoman Era, there was a very limited conversion of Armenian Orthodox to Catholicism, mainly due to the proselytising activities of the Franciscan mission in Nicosia and Larnaca, especially during the 17th and 18th centuries; however, these must have been temporary apostasies and their number never exceeded 50 at any given time. In 1794 the small Armenian Catholic community of Larnaca was granted some holy chalices from the auction of the belongings of the old Capuchin monastery of the town. It was during the British Era that the Armenian-Catholic community increased in number, due to the arrival of a large number of refugees from the Armenian genocide. In 1931, there were about 200 Armenian-Catholics in Cyprus most of them became attached to the Latin places of worship, especially the Holy Cross cathedral in Nicosia and Saint Joseph's convent in Larnaca; between 1921-1923, the latter housed a small Armenian-Catholic school, run by Abbot Jean Kouyoumdjian - who served at the convent between 1921-1928. In 1960, there were less than 100 Armenian-Catholics. However, their number decreased in the following years, due to emigration to other countries and assimilation with the Armenian-Cypriot, the Latin-Cypriot and/or the Greek-Cypriot community. However, due to the influx of Lebanese-Armenians to Cyprus since the mid-1970s, there has been a small increase in the number of Armenian-Catholics on the island. Currently, local Armenian-Catholics are less than 20, in addition to about 30 foreign Armenians.