Shiek Mordechai Synagogue

Shiek Mordechai Synagogue (Armenian: Շեյք Մորդեխայ սինագոգ), was a Sephardic Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Up until 1924, Shiek Mordechai was a leading institution and center of communal Jewish life for Jews in Armenia.[1][2]

Shiek Mordechai Synagogue
Armenian: Շեյք Մորդեխայ սինագոգ
Religion
AffiliationJudaism (former)
RiteNusach Sefard
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusSynagogue (1850–1924)
StatusDestroyed
Location
LocationYerevan
CountryArmenia
Architecture
Date establishedc. 1840 (as a congregation)
Completed1860
Destroyed1924

History

The Jewish community in Armenia has a history of 2,000 years, when first Jewish groups settled in Armenia after the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.[1]

From 1840, two groups of Jews existed in Armenia, Ashkenazis from the Russian Empire and Sephardis from Persia. Both communities had their own separate houses of worship and community leaders.[3] The Shiek Mordechai Synagogue began operating in 1860 to serve the Persian Sephardic population of Yerevan. The Persian language was used along with Hebrew in prayer at the synagogue.[4] The synagogue remained in use until 1924 when it was destroyed during the anti-religious politices of the Soviet Union.[5]

Currently, the Jewish population in Armenia is around only around 500–1,000 with a single synagogue serving Yerevan.[1] The Mordechai Navi Synagogue is said to have gotten its name from the earlier Shiek Mordechai Synagogue.

See also

References
  1. Vladimirsky, Irena (2009). "Jews in Armenia". In Mark Avrum Ehrlich (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture. Vol. 3. ABC-Clio. p. 1105. ISBN 9781851098736.
  2. Seidel, Jeffrey (2000). Jewish Travelers' Resource Guide 2000. Feldheim Publishers. p. 21. ISBN 9781583304099.
  3. Hovhannisyan, Hasmik (26 March 2007). Baghdasaryan, Erik (ed.). "There Have Always Been Jews in Armenia". Hetq Online. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  4. Karpenko, Ilya (July 2008). "В СТРАНЕ МНОГОЦВЕТНОГО ТУФА [IN THE LAND OF MULTICOLORED TUFF]". Lechaim Magazine. No. 195. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  5. Scheib, Ariel. "Armenia Virtual Jewish History Tour". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 19 October 2021.

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