The Emmanuel Armenian Evangelical Church

An Armenian Protestant church in the Aziziyah quarter of Aleppo, just north of Ibara square. The congregation was founded in 1852 and the present building was finished in 1923. It serves as the seat of the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria, and it is one of three Armenian Protestant churches in the city.

Getting there

Aziziyah is the Christian quarter west of the city centre, and most of Aleppo’s churches sit within a few streets of each other here. Emmanuel stands in the ordinary street fabric; from outside you pick it out by its dark brown stone and its wooden gable roof. Walk.

What to see

The building is plain, like the other Protestant churches of Syria. The plan is nearly rectangular and the roof is timber. Each side facade carries five tall, narrow pointed-arch windows in a row. The gable opposite the altar holds one very large pointed window with three small ones beneath it. The pointed main door is on the long side, next to that gable. Inside, the walls are plastered and white: no icons, no gilding.

Its recent history

The congregation has been in Aleppo since 1852. It grew after the First World War with people arriving from what is now Turkey, and that is why the present church was built. A rocket on 17 January 2016 tore into the roof and part of the pews; the pastor and members of the congregation began clearing the debris the same day. The building stayed out of use for about three years, and services were held in the community hall. The repaired church reopened on 2 December 2018 with an Advent service.

What most people miss

See the large gable window from the inside. In a white, unornamented hall it is the one big opening the light comes through, and it explains better than anything what this church was trying to look like. Come at service time: the door may be shut at other hours.