The history of Armenia, or the Armenian people, begins with the Jewish Scriptures-the Torah. The first springs of the Tigris and Euphrates, two biblical rivers, (Gen. 2:14) emerge from the Armenian mountains.[1] Geographically, Armenia took central stage during the time of the great flood. Noah, his wife and their three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth (or Yapheth) survived the flood with their wives and emerged alive from the ark when it came safely to rest on the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8:4) (in the vicinity of the land of the Armenians).[2] Another biblical reference to the land of Armenia or Ararat is found in the book of Kings. During the reign of the Assyrian king Senecherim, his two sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed their father and escaped into Ararat (2 Kg. 19:37; Jer. 37:38) where they became the fathers of the Artsruni and the Gnuni (people groups later identified as Armenians). Armenia thrived as a strong nation from 700-600 BCE.[3] During the reigns of Persian kings, and as the Greeks and Romans dominated Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Asia Minor, Armenia ruled over the land between the Black, Caspian and Mediterranean Seas.[4] Pagan at that time, Armenians officially accepted Christianity during the reign of the Armenian King Trdat (Tiridate) in AD 301.[5] Gregory the Illuminator caused the spread of the Gospel throughout Armenia. In the beginning of the fifth century AD, Mesrop Mashtots and the Catholicos (the supreme patriarch of the Armenian church) Sahag Partev translated the Bible into Armenian and thereby also created the first Armenian alphabet. The Armenian church participated in the first three ecumenical councils of Christendom. At the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, however, Armenians could not send their representative because of the Avarair War against Persia. [6] The Chalcedonian controversy and the break up of Christendom had a dramatic impact on the church, which will be discussed later. From the middle of the seventh to the end of twelfth century, Arabs conquered the Armenian land and devastated cities and villages.[7] The last tiny Armenian kingdom of Cilicia in Asia Minor fellat the hands of the Mongol's in the invasion of the thirteenth century. From the fourteenth century the spread of Islam caused a great decline of Christian faith in Armenia. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Armenia was already divided between Turkey to the west, Persia to the south, and Russia to the north. During the nineteenth century, the Bible was translated into the vernacular and foreign missionaries from Europe and North America established churches and schools in both Western and Eastern Armenia. The foreign mission effort resulted in a renewal movement in both parts of the country. A religious awakening in Eastern Armenia in the 1820s and in Western Armenia in the 1830s brought new light and hope for the nation. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Evangelical Movement (or Protestantism) was growing rapidly, particularly in the western part of the country, as a result of foreign mission influence. The Russian Tzar and the Russian Orthodox Church were less tolerant toward evangelicals than was Ottoman Turkey. Thus, the church in Eastern Armenia, from the mid-nineteenth century on, remained suppressed and controlled by Russia. Western Armenia was left virtually without Armenians as a result of the Massacre of 1915, and Eastern Armenia, after three years of independence, was grafted into the "Bolshevik family." This "family" relationship lasted seventy years. In 1991, however, Armenia regained its independence as a free democratic country. New opportunities and new horizons have now been granted to the people in the land of Ararat. The challenge lies in the fact that Christian workers, clergy and laity alike, are few. The nation has experienced tremendous ideological confusion. The communist philosophy proved inadequate in bringing transformation to the Armenian people. It followed the Armenian genocide experience and further obscured the ability of Armenians to perceive either justice or the love of God. The current ideological vacuum, which has been created by the seventy-year communist failure, as well as the nation's alienation from its Christian roots and beliefs, is a major concern for Armenian Christianity today. A massive sectarian movement throughout the country should sound an alarm for us as Christians, challenging us to engage in educating and training the current generation for revitalization and renewal of the national church. Although persecuted and suffered, the church of Armenia, perhaps unknown and unheard by most Christians in the world, has a faithful remnant which needs protection and strengthening.