The Armenian Church was not small in Polish lands. In 1772 it had 22 parishes and about 4-6 thousand believers. As in the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic Churches, religious brotherhoods were a popular way of organising the faithful. Armenians formed associations in the towns where they had colonies. These were open to representatives of all Armenian social groups. These associations played an important role in promoting the national, religious, social and economic activities of the Armenian population. The economic context was very visible in the activities of the brotherhoods. It manifested itself in the establishment of a league bank within each confraternity, whose role was to provide low-interest loans to the Armenian population and assistance to those in need. The development of the confraternities was closely linked to the religious cults that spread at the same time, especially the cults of the saints, in which the Virgin Mary played a leading role. The oldest Armenian brotherhood was founded in 1640 in Lvov, near the local cathedral. In the following years 3 more brotherhoods were founded. They were also established in other cities inhabited by Armenians. A special category of Armenian associations were trade brotherhoods, which often took the form of religious associations.