Armenian Church, Gheorgheni

About

The Armenian Church (Romanian: Biserica armeano-catolică Nașterea Maicii Domnului) is an Armenian Catholic church located at 1 Biserica Armeană Street in Gheorgheni, Romania. It is dedicated to the Nativity of Mary and forms part of the Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Romania.

History: Armenians first arrived in Gheorgheni, then part of the Principality of Transylvania, during the 17th century: possibly two brothers came in 1654, or a group in 1688. At first, their religious services took place in rented private homes. In 1613, a Roman Catholic parish priest had established a cemetery for foreigners behind the old Gothic chapel that dated to around 1450. In 1698, the bishop's vicar handed over the cemetery to the Armenians, who bought the chapel in 1712 from prelate György Mártonffy for 120 forints. In place of the chapel, they built a larger church for the growing Armenian community, but after this too proved too small, chose a new site for a church in 1729. To the right of the main entrance, there is a plaque with an inscription in Armenian that indicates the Armenians who settled in the town in 1688 built the Baroque-style church in 1733 and that it was blessed...