| Shiek Mordechai Synagogue | |
| Native Name: | Armenian: Շեյք Մորդեխայ սինագոգ |
| Rite: | Nusach Sefard |
| Festivals: | --> |
| Organizational Status: | --> |
| Functional Status: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Yerevan |
| Country: | Armenia |
| Year Completed: | 1860 |
| Date Destroyed: | 1924 |
| Elevation Ft: | --> |
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]
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.