The '''Church of Armenia''', sometimes called the '''Armenian Apostolic Church''' or the '''Armenian Orthodox Church''' is an ancient church, originally part one of the ancient, undivided Church[[Oriental Orthodox]] churches. It [[schism|separated ]] from the [[Orthodox Church |Eastern Orthodox Church]] in AD 506, after the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council|Council of Chalcedon]]. It is one of the [[Oriental Orthodox]] Churches(AD 451).

[[liturgy|Liturgically]], the Church has much in common with the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. For example, their bishops wear vestments almost identical to those of Western bishops. The Armenian Apostolic Church should not, however, be confused with the [[Armenian Catholic Church]], which is church in [[Uniate|union]] with the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. They also typically do not use a full [[iconostasis]], but rather a curtain.{{orientalchurches}}

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 [[Saint 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. In addition to the obvious spiritual benefits which resulted from the "baptism" of Armenia, this conversion aided in unifying various ethnic groups into a cohesive Armenian identity. The Armenian Church was instrumental in the early missions to neighboring [[Church of Georgia |Georgia]] and [[Caucasian Albania]].

Together with However, the other churches that have come to be called [[Oriental Armenian Orthodox]] Churches, the Church argues that this is a wrong description of Armeniaits position, as it considers Monophysitism, as taught by [[Schism|splitEutyches]] and condemned at Chalcedon, a heresy and only disagrees with Orthodoxy in the formula defined by that council. The Armenian church instead adheres to the doctrine defined by [[5th CenturyCyril of Alexandria]], rejecting considered as a saint by the [[Dogma|dogmas]] Chalcedonian churches as well, who described Christ as being of the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council|Council of Chalcedon]] regarding one incarnate nature, where both divine and human nature are united. To distinguish this from [[ChristEutychianism|Christ’sEutychian]] dual-nature. They are sometimes and other versions of Monophysitism this position is called [[Monophysite|Monophysitesmiaphysitism]], however this is a term that they reject, preferring to be called "Non-Chalcedonian," since they ''do'' claim that Christ did indeed have two natures.

===The 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 Genocide===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.

Today there are large In America, the Armenian Orthodox congreations Church maintains St. Vartan Cathedral in many middle-eastern countries outside ArmeniaNew York City, and St. Of particular importance is the Armenian Apostolic Church of IranNersess Seminary in New Rochelle, where Armenians are the largest Christian ethnic minorityNY. The Armenian Church also is one of the churches (together latter cooperates very closely with the [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Church]], the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Church of Alexandria Theological Seminary (Coptic)|Coptics]]Crestwood, [[Church of Ethiopia|Ethiopians]] and [[Church of Antioch (Jacobite)|Syrians]]) which cooperates in the use and administration of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre (JerusalemNew York)]].

In America, ==Resources==*''[http://www.stvartanbookstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5169&HS=1 Frequently Asked Questions About the Armenian Church maintains St]'' by Fr. Vartan Cathedral in New York City, and StKrikor Maksoudian* ''[http://www. Nersess Seminary in New Rochelle, NYstvartanbookstore. The latter cooperates very closely with [[Stcom/index. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, NY)asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5166&HS=1 Feasts and Saints of the Armenian Church]].'' by Patriarch Torkom Koushagian

* Portions of this article have been taken, with modifications, from [http[Wikipedia://www.wikipedia.com/Armenian_Apostolic_Church Wikipedia.comArmenian Apostolic Church]]

==External Linkslinks==*[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/default.aspx?ID=5&pagetypeID=9&sitecode=HQ&pageno=1 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]]

* [http[Category:Jurisdictions|Armenia]][[Category://www.armenianchurch.org The Armenian Apostolic Church in AmericaSchisms]]* [http[Category://www.stnersess.edu St. Nersess Armenian SeminaryOriental Orthodox|Armenia]]