Andrew David Urshan (born Andreos Bar Dawid Urshan; May 17, 1884 – October 16, 1967) was a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

-born

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

evangelist and author. Born near the city of

Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an alt ...

, early in his life Urshan was influenced by the missionary activities of the

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. At the age of 18, he decided to travel to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he commenced his religious activities, embracing

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

and later founding the Persian Pentecostal Mission. After spending about eleven years in the United States, in 1913 Urshan returned to his country of birth, only to find himself and his fellow Assyrians soon afterwards trapped by the Ottoman invasion of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Urshan then made his way back to the United States, where he settled permanently. Known as the Persian Evangelist, Urshan was the author of numerous religious books, and also the composer of

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

. He published ''The Witness of God'' (1917), a

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also examples ...

that he continued for the rest of his life. Urshan published a serialized account of his own life story in the periodical, calling it ''The Life of Andrew bar David Urshan''. Later, the installments appeared in the form of a book. He did not leave any writings in

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Suret ( syr, ܣܘܪܝܬ) ( �su:rɪtʰor �su:rɪθ, also known as Assyrian or Chaldean, refers to the varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) spoken by ethnic Assyrians, including those identifying as religious groups rather than eth ...

. His oldest son, Nathaniel, later served as the head of the

United Pentecostal Church International The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Weldon Spring, Missouri, United States. The United Pentecostal Church International was formed in 1945 by a merger of the former Pentecostal C ...

for more than twenty years.

Biography

Urshan was born to Shamasha Dawid Bar Urshan (a local

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

) and his wife Nassimo in the village of Abajaluy, near

. He attended the Presbyterian College of Urmia, which had been established by American missionaries, where he "had a 'born again' experience in 1900". In 1902, at the age of 18, Urshan traveled to the United States. He eventually reached

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, having traveled through Tiflis (

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. In 1906 he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, now using the

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

name of ''Andrew David Urshan''. There, he met a group of people who were, like himself, ethnically Assyrian, and with whom he intended to study the Bible alongside the nondenominational

Moody Church The Moody Church (often referred to as Moody Memorial Church, after a sign hung on the North Avenue side of the building) is a historic evangelical Christian (Nondenominational Christianity) church in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Ill ...

. Soon after, in 1908, the group (including Urshan) embraced

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

at the North Avenue Mission led by

William Howard Durham William Howard Durham (June 10, 1873 in Brodhead, Kentucky – July 7, 1912 in Los Angeles, California) was an early Pentecostal preacher and theologian, best known for advocating the Finished Work doctrine. Early life and career Durham was born ...

, after which Urshan founded the Persian Pentecostal Mission in Chicago. By 1910 he was reportedly traveling throughout the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

to conduct

revival meeting A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come ...

After spending eleven years in the US, Urshan returned to his native Persia in late 1913. During

, in early 1915, he was a witness to the terror brought upon Persia's

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

province by the

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

military incursions. The Ottoman invasion resulted in many of the Assyrians of the area being expelled from their homes. Having turned into a refugee, Andrew, his parents, and four brothers walked towards

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

(then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

), hoping they could "escape through Russia to the United States". The journey was an uneasy expedition; the family was forced to dodge "maurauding bands of

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...

and

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

" for many weeks. Andrew's brother Benjamin stated in an account that their parents, Shamasha and Nassimo, died during the trip and were buried with unmarked grave markers. In Tiflis, Urshan preached and ministered amongst Persian immigrants, but, due to restrictions issued by the Russian government on foreign preachers, Urshan was forced to leave the city. He then proceeded towards Armavir, where he preached amongst refugees. During this second trip through the Russian Empire since his journey to the US in 1902, Andrew David was exposed to Russian Pentecostalism. In 1916, now back in Chicago, Urshan recommenced his ministry, married, and "devoted his life to preaching nationwide". He was also reportedly active in "Pentecostal organizational activity".

Issue

Andrew David had four children. His oldest son, Nathaniel Andrew Urshan (1920–2005), was the head of the

, "a leading Pentecostal denomination", for a period of over twenty years.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Urshan, Andrew David Assyrian Iranian writers People from Urmia Iranian emigrants to the United States American people of Iranian-Assyrian descent Oneness Pentecostals Iranian Pentecostals American evangelists American Pentecostals American Christian hymnwriters 1884 births 1967 deaths

Biography

Issue

See also

References

Sources