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Tradition tells us that the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew first brought Christianity to the land of the Armenians in the first century. However, it would not be for about 200 more years that Armenia would become the first country to adopt [[Christianity]] as a state religion, in AD 301, when St. [[Gregory the Enlightener|Gregory the Illuminator]], a missionary from [[Caesarea]], converted the king of Armenia, Trdat IV, to Christianity. In time, St. Gregory was sent back to Caesarea to be elevated to the [[bishops|episcopate]] and returned to Armenia as the first '''[[Catholicos]]''' (or "universal" bishop of an area). Gregory's son, Aristakes, attended the First [[Ecumenical Council]] at [[First Ecumenical Council|Nicea]] in AD 325.

Historically, the [[Armenia]]n Armenian church has been labeled [[monophysitism|monophysite]] because it (just as the [[Church of Alexandria (Coptic Christianity)|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 [[Chalcedonian|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 [[Eutychianism|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. It should be noted that the Armenian Church was not represented by its Supreme Patriarch - —the Catholicos during the Council of Chalcedon, because the country was in war at the time, so instead a delegation of clergymen was sent.

The hierarch of the Armenian Church is the '''Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of ArmeniaAll Armenians'''. The current Catholicos is Garegin II, who resides in at the city Holy See of Echmiadzin, west of Yerevan. However, a minority of the church has recognized instead outside Armenia is under the jurisdiction of the Catholicos of Cilicia, who resides in Antilyas Antilias in Lebanon, as a result of a dispute that emerged while Armenia was under Communist rule.

* [http://www.armenianchurch.org/ The Armenian Church - The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin]* [http://www.armenianchurchwd.com/ Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America]* [http://www.armenianchurch.net/ Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America]* [http://www.stnersess.edu/ St. Nersess Armenian Seminary]* [http://www.stvartanbookstore.com/ St. Vartan Bookstore]* [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=5&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches: Armenian Apostolic Church] by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar* [http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Armenian_Apostolic_Church Armeniapedia - Armenian Apostolic Church]* [[Wikipedia:Armenian Apostolic Church]]