Dictionary:
Armenian Church
n.
An autonomous Christian church established in Armenia in the fourth century A.D. It differs from other Eastern churches in professing a form of Monophysitism.
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Russian History Encyclopedia:
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church has a long and ancient history. Its received tradition remembers the apostolic preaching of Saint Bartholomew and Saint Thaddeus among the Armenians of Edessa and surrounding territories. It is likely that there were Armenian Christians from early times, such that Saint Gregory the Illuminator, in the fourth century, who worked among people who had previous contact with Christianity. The Armenian Church celebrates the year 301 as the time when Gregory converted King Trdat. The king, in turn, made Christianity the state religion. There is disagreement among scholars about this date. It should also be remembered that the idea of Christianity as state religion was an innovation at that time.
Events of the fifth century were critical to the making of a distinctively Armenian Christian culture and identity. The foremost of these was the invention of the Armenian alphabet by the monk Mesrob Mashtots and his community. Translations of scripture, commentaries, liturgy, theology, and histories were made. Greek and Syriac literature were important sources. In addition, the fifth century witnessed the first flowering of original Armenian literature. An example is Eznik Koghbatsi's doctrinal work, Refutation of the Sects. The Battle of Avarayr in 451 against Persia, although a defeat for the Armenians under Vartan, has been remembered as critical for winning the Armenians the right to practice their Christian belief.
The fact that the Armenians eventually rejected the Christology of the Council of Chalcedon (451) has defined their communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches and their schism from the Orthodox churches that grew out of Constantinople (that is, the Orthodox churches of the Greeks, Georgians, and Russians, among others). The dispute concerned the way in which the natures of Christ were properly described. The Armenian Church believed that the language of Chalcedon, defining the person of Jesus Christ as "in two natures," destroyed the unity of divinity and humanity in Christ.
Throughout much of its history, the Armenian Orthodox Church has been an instrument of the Armenian nation's survival. The head of the church, called catholicos, has been located in various Armenian cities, often in the center of political power. In the early twenty-first century the supreme catholicos is located in the city of Echmiadzin, near the Armenian capital, Yerevan. Another catholicos, descended from the leaders of Sis in Cilicia, is located in Lebanon. During the existence of Cilician Armenia (from the eleventh to fourteenth centuries), when Crusaders were present in the Middle East, the Armenian Church had close ties with Rome. Nerses Shnorhali, known as "the Graceful" (1102 - 1173), was an important catholicos of this period.
The Armenian Church played a significant role in the succession of Muslim empires in which its faithful were located. Because some of these were divided according to religious affiliation, the leaders of the Armenian were, in fact, also politically responsible for their communities. The Armenian Church was greatly affected by two phenomenon in the twentieth century: the genocide in Turkey, in which 1.5 million died, and the Sovietization of eastern Armenia, which ushered in seven decades of official atheism. The genocide essentially destroyed the church in Turkey, where only a remnant remains. It has also profoundly affected the way in which the Armenian Church approaches the idea of suffering in this world.
The church thrived in many parts of the Armenian diaspora, and is regaining its strength in newly independent Armenia. In the post-Soviet period, the church has struggled to define itself in society, having to overcome the decades of persecution and neglect, as well as making adjustments in a political culture in which it is favored but must still coexist in an officially pluralistic society.
The liturgy of the Armenian Church (the eucharistic service is called patarag) with Syriac and Greek roots, has been vastly enriched by the hymnody of Armenian writers. Contact with Rome has also been important in this context. Armenians, preserving an ancient Eastern tradition, celebrate Christmas and Epiphany together on January 6.
Bibliography
Maksoudian, Krikor (1995). Chosen of God: The Election of the Catholicos of All Armenians. New York: St. Vartan's Press.
Ormanian, Malachia. (1988). The Church of Armenia: Her History, Doctrine, Rule, Discipline, Liturgy, Literature, and Existing Conditions. New York: St. Vartan's Press.
—PAUL CREGO
Columbia Encyclopedia:
Armenian Church,
autonomous Christian church, sometimes also called the Gregorian Church. Its head, a primate of honor only, is the catholicos of Yejmiadzin, Armenia; Karekin II became catholicos in 1999. His rule is shared by the patriarchs of Jerusalem and Constantinople and by the catholicos of Sis (Cilicia). In general, Armenian practices resemble those of other Eastern churches; the priests may marry and communion is distributed in both bread and wine, although the use of unleavened bread is a Western practice. The liturgical language is classical Armenian. Armenia became Christian at the end of the 3d cent. through the missionary work of St. Gregory the Illuminator. In the next century the young church made itself autonomous, apparently because of the efforts of the metropolitan bishop of Caesarea, St. Basil the Great, to impose certain reforms. After the Council of Chalcedon the Armenians rejected the orthodox position; this adoption, at least tacit, of Monophysitism completed the isolation of the Armenian Church from the rest of Christendom. Part of the Armenian Church reunited with Rome temporarily in the 13th and 14th cent., and missionary work by the Roman Church in the 14th cent. resulted in many converts. In 1740 the Catholic Armenian rite was officially organized, in communion with the pope but under its own patriarch. Today there are Armenian churches in every continent.
Bibliography
See P. C. Gulesserian, The Armenian Church (tr. 1939, repr. 1970); D. Attwater, The Christian Churches of the East (2 vol., rev. ed. 1961).
Wikipedia:
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church (Armenian: Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի, Hay Arakelagan Yegeghetzi), sometimes called the Armenian Orthodox Church or the Gregorian Church, is the world's oldest national church[1] [2] and one of the most ancient Christian communities [3].
Origins and history
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The earliest Christian accounts of the introduction of Christianity into Armenia date from the 1st century. The Church teaches that it was first preached by two Apostles of Jesus, St. Bartholomew and St. Jude. The Armenian Apostolic Church has been in existence since the days of the apostles and therefore would be one of the oldest churches of Christianity. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion, when St. Gregory the Illuminator converted Tiridates III (the King of Armenia) and members of his court [4], traditionally dated to 301 (after Mikayel Chamchian 1784). The Church teaches that St. Gregory was imprisoned by Tiridates in an underground pit, called Khor Virab, for 13 years, after which he healed the King of an incurable disease, whereupon Tiridates accepted Christianity[citation needed].
The official name of the church is the "Armenian Orthodox Apostolic Church"; "Gregorian Church" is not preferred by the church, as it views the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew as the founders, and St. Gregory as merely the first official head of the church.
Christianity was strengthened in Armenia by the translation of the Bible into the Armenian language by the Armenian theologian, monk and scholar Saint Mesrop Mashtots.
Monophysite label
Historically, the Armenian church has been labeled monophysite because it (just as the Coptic Orthodox Church) rejected the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon, which condemned monophysitism. The Armenian Church officially severed ties with the West in 554, during the second Council of Dvin where the dyophysite formula of the Council of Chalcedon was rejected.
However, the Armenian Orthodox Church argues that this is a wrong description of its position, as it considers Monophysitism, as taught by Eutyches and condemned at Chalcedon, a heresy and only disagrees with the formula defined by that council. The Armenian church instead adheres to the doctrine defined by Cyril of Alexandria, considered as a saint by the Chalcedonian churches as well, who described Christ as being of one incarnate nature, where both divine and human nature are united. To distinguish this from Eutychian and other versions of Monophysitism this position is called miaphysitism.
In recent times, both Chalcedonian and anti-Chalcedonian churches have developed a deeper understanding for each other's positions, recognizing the substantial agreement while maintaining their respective theological language. Hence, the Monophysite label is avoided when describing the Armenians' or Copts' belief regarding the Nature of Christ.
Structure and leadership
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The Armenian Apostolic Church is headed by a Catholicos (the plural is Catholicoi). (The Armenian Apostolic Church should not be confused, however, with the Armenian Catholic Church whose patriarch is Nerses Bedros XIX, which is an Eastern Catholic church in communion with the See of Rome (whose bishop is Benedict XVI). At present, the Catholicos of All Armenians is his Holiness Karekin II (sometimes spelled as Garegin), who resides in the city of Echmiadzin, west of Yerevan. A second Catholicos, His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of Cilicia, who resides in Antilyas in Lebanon, leads churches belonging to the Holy See of Cilicia. The division stems from frequent relocations of the Church headquarters under Ottoman Rule and was further reinforced during the period in which Armenia was part of the Soviet Union. However, the Catholicos of All Armenians claims theoretical sovereignty over the Catholicos of Cilicia. The Armenian Apostolic Church is one of a few apostolic churches in the world to have a democratic system; the people decide if they want to keep priests in their churches and may ask for different ones, as do some other connectional ecclesial structures, such as Presbyterians.
Similarities to other churches
Liturgically speaking, the Church has much more in common with the Latin rite in its externals, especially as it was at the time of separation, than the Eastern Orthodox Churches. For example, their bishops wear mitres almost identical to those of Western bishops. They usually do not use a full iconostasis, but rather a curtain (which was also used in the West at the time of separation). The liturgical music is Armenian chant.
Armenian priests below the rank of bishop are allowed to be married before ordination and their descendants' surnames are prepended with the prefix "Ter" (or "Der" in Western Armenian, meaning "Lord"), to indicate their lineage.
Today
Today there are large Armenian Apostolic congregations in many countries outside Armenia, including Russia, Georgia, France, the United States, Lebanon, Syria, Canada, Australia, Cyprus, Israel, Greece, Bulgaria, England, Argentina, Uruguay and others. Of particular importance is the Armenian Apostolic Church of Iran (see also Christians in Iran) and the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. Armenians represent the largest Christian ethnic minority in both of these predominantly Muslim countries.
See also
External links
- The Armenian Church
- Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia
- Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
- Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
- Araratian Patriarchal Diocese
- Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada
- Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
- The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Western)
- Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church Library Online: English | Armenian | Russian
- Prayer Book of the Armenian Church
- Armeniapedia - Armenian Apostolic Church
- Some information
- Basic info
- Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the US General Information
- Directory of Armenian Churches Worldwide
References
- David Marshall Lang.Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. London:George Allen and Unwin. 1973.
- ^ The Journal of Ecclesiastical History - Page 268 by Cambridge University Press, Gale Group, C.W. Dugmore
- ^ The Armenian Massacres, 1894-1896: 1894-1896 : U.S. media testimony - Page 131 by A. Dzh. (Arman Dzhonovich) Kirakosian
- ^ The Antiquities of the Christian Church - Page 466 by Johann Christian Wilhelm Augusti, Georg Friedrich Heinrich Rheinwald, Carl Christian Friedrich Siegel
- ^ Academic American Encyclopedia - Page 172 by Grolier Incorporated
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Russian History Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Russian History. Copyright © 2004 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Armenian Apostolic Church". Read more |
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- vartabed
- Saint Gregory the Illuminator (Armenian theologian)
- Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov (Russian history)
- catholicos
- Yejmiadzin (city, Armenia)
- Nerses Vazhapetian
- Patriarch
- armenian
- Mkrtich Khrimian
- beatitude
- Manzikert (city, Turkey)
- Lake Van (lake, Turkey)
- Caucasian Albanians (Russian history)
- Kars (city, Turkey)
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