Botoșani-born prelate, Oxendius Vărzărescu), and further submitted to forced integration by the Habsburg monarchy since the 18th century. The Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Romania is nowadays centered on Gherla, and is placed under the jurisdiction of the Romanian Roman-Catholic Church archbishops of Alba Iulia. Most Armenians from Transylvania were magyarized in the last half of the 19th century. Romania After the Armenian genocide of 1915, Romania was the first state to officially provide political asylum to refugees from the area. Following World War 1, Romania acquired territories including 40,000 Armenians (15,000 in Bessarabia, 20,000 in Transylvania, and 5,000 refugees), thereby raising the Armenian population of Romania to 50,000—they were represented by the Union of Romanian Armenians (headed by Harutiun A. Khentirian who would later become the honourary consul-general of Armenia in Romania in 1922–1924) which sought to gain them minority rights and to facilitate repatriation to Armenia. Despite cosigning the Treaty of Sèvres with Armenia, Romania withheld de jure recognition "pending the final determination of Armenia's boundaries and ratification of the Turkish peace treaty." In 1940 about 40,000 Armenians lived in Romania. Under communist rule, Armenians started to leave the country, and Nicolae Ceaușescu's regime eventually closed all Armenian schools. Religion There is, among others, the Zamca Armenian Apostolic Monastery in Mânăstirea Zamca, Suceava. Notable Romanians of Armenian descent Romanians of Armenian descent have been very active in Romanian political, cultural, academic and social life. Most worthy of mention would be Vazgen I, Catholicos of Armenia, and Iacob Zadig, a general in the Romanian Army during World War I. See also Armenian diaspora in Europe Armenian-Romanian relations Gherla References Armenians in Romania at the Central European University site (retrieved on 28 November 2005) Armenii ("The Armenians"), on Divers online bulletin of ethnic minorities in Romania (retrieved on 28 November 2005) Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne ("Between Orient and Occident. The Romanian lands from at the beginning of the modern era"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995, p. 178 Constantin C. Giurescu, Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre ("History of Bucharest. From the earliest times to our day"), Ed. Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966, p. 98, 270-271 Nicolae Iorga, Choses d’art arméniennes en Roumanie ("Artworks of Armenians in Romania"), 1935 External links Ararat online List of Armenian Churches in Romania Marius Vasileanu, "Biserica Armeană" ("The Armenian Church"), in Adevărul Ethnic