About Us/Who we are

The Armenian Evangelical Central Church of São Paulo, Brazil, is a Presbyterian Church and is a member of the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America (AEUNA) and belongs to the Brazilian Presbyterian Church (IPB- Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil).
The first Armenian Evangelical Church was formed on July 1st, 1846, in the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul), formed by 40 persons. Its first pastor was the Rev. Absalom Iutiudjian.
In 1873, in the Ottoman Empire, there were 74 churches, with 47 pastors, 56 preachers, 4032 professed members, and the service attendance reached over 13,000 people. During this period there were 128 Bible Schools, with 9,000 children and young people. With the increase of the number of churches, there was the need to constitute Church Unions in many places for mutual assistance and cooperation .
In the mid-1920s, the first Armenian refugees of the massacres of the Ottoman Empire began to arrive in Brazil.
In 1926, the evangelical Armenians in Brazil decided to congregate together with the firm purpose of worshiping God, preserving the faith, culture, the Armenian traditions, preserving their language and loyalty to their relatives and friends who fell as martyrs. In 1926, some evangelical Armenians, led by Rev. Michael Bitchmayan, Prof. Peniamim Gaidzakian and Apraham Partamian, constituted the Armenian Evangelical Central Church of São Paulo, which Armenians in Brazil decided to congregate together with the firm purpose of worshiping God, preserving the faith, culture, the Armenian traditions, preserving their language and loyalty to their relatives and friends who fell as martyrs. In 1926, some evangelical Armenians, led by Rev. Michael Bitchmayan, Prof. Peniamim Gaidzakian and Apraham Partamian, constituted the Armenian Evangelical Central Church of São Paulo, which was officially organized in 1927..