The Armenian Monuments of Odesa City

The first Armenian residents of Odesa (Ukraine) arrived in the city in the 1830s from Akkerman (now Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi) and Grigoriopol. Mkhitarist Father Minas Bzhshkyants wrote that during his visit to Odesa in the early 19th century, about 30 Armenian families who had arrived from Grigoriopol were living in the southern part of the city and there was no Armenian Church yet (Bzhshkyants, p. 379).
After the Hamidian massacres of 1894–1896 and the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire, the Armenian community in Odesa grew significantly due to the mass displacement and emigration of Armenian survivors. The community published a magazine and established an Armenian school, a kindergarten, and various art groups.
The most important monuments of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in Odesa are:
1. The Old Church of Saint Grigor (Gregory) the Illuminator
In the 1840s, an Armenian church dedicated to Saint Grigor (Gregory) the Illuminator was built at the intersection of Bazarna and Katerynynska streets, next to the city’s largest market (the street was later renamed Sovetska). This is the first Armenian church in Odesa known to us.
The church was destroyed during the Second World War (1941–1945), and a building that now houses Secondary School No. 18 was subsequently constructed on its site.
When the church was still standing, it had three inscriptions, which were deciphered by L. Melikset-Bek and later copied by Grigor Grigoryan from Melikset-Bek’s transcriptions.
2. The New Church of Saint Grigor (Gregory) the Illuminator
The decision to build the current Armenian church in Odesa was made on August 5, 1993, by the Executive Committee of the Odesa City Council.
The construction of the church was completed in 1995 and was solemnly consecrated by Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin I. Like the old church, the current one is also named after Saint Grigor (Gregory) the Illuminator.
3. The Armenian Cemetery
The Armenian cemetery is located in the southwestern part of the city. The inscriptions preserved here are mostly recent, and the oldest known to us dates from 1897 (Divan, pp. 255–256).
The old Armenian cemetery, which was likely located in the area adjacent to the old church, has not survived to this day.

References
1. Mkhitar Bzhshkyants (Father Minas), Travel to Poland, Venice — St. Lazarus, 1830.
2. Corpus of Armenian Inscriptions (Divan Hay Vimagrutyan), Issue VII: Ukraine, Moldova, compiled by G. Grigoryan, Yerevan, NAS RA, 1996.
3. Davtyan David, History of the Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Odesa, Odesa, 2004.