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Church of Armenia

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==History==
===Christianity in Armenia===
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.
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]].
===The Council of Chalcedon===
Together with Historically, the Armenian church has been labeled [[monophysitism|monophysite]] because it (just as the other churches that have come to be called [[Oriental Church of Alexandria (Coptic)|Coptic OrthodoxChurch]] churches, ) rejected the Church decisions of Armenia the [[schism|splitCouncil of Chalcedon]] , which condemned monophysitism. The Armenian Church officially severed ties with Orthodoxy the West in the 5th Century554, rejecting during the second Council of [[dogmaDvin]]s of where the [[Fourth Ecumenical CouncilChalcedonian|dyophysite]] formula of the Council of [[Chalcedon]] regarding was rejected. However, the Armenian Orthodox Church argues that this is a wrong description of its position, as it considers Monophysitism, as taught by [[ChristEutyches]]'s two naturesand condemned at Chalcedon, a heresy and only disagrees with the formula defined by that council. They 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 sometimes called united. To distinguish this from [[MonophysitismEutychianism|MonophysitesEutychian]], however and other versions of Monophysitism this position is a term that they rejectcalled [[miaphysitism]]. In recent times, preferring to be called "Nonboth Chalcedonian and anti-Chalcedonianchurches have developed a deeper understanding for each other's positions," since they recognizing the substantial agreement while maintaining their respective theological language. Hence, the Monophysite label is avoided when describing the Armenians'or Copts'do'' claim belief regarding the Nature of Christ. It should be noted that Christ did indeed have two naturesthe 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 Armenian Genocide===
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==Leadership==
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.
==Armenian Christianity Outside of Armenia==
==Resources==
*''[http://www.stvartanbookstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5169&HS=1 Frequently Asked Questions About the Armenian Church]'' by Fr. Krikor Maksoudian
* ''[http://www.stvartanbookstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5166&HS=1 Feasts and Saints of the Armenian ChuchChurch]'' by Patriarch Torkom Koushagian
==Sources==
==External links==
* [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]] 
[[Category:Jurisdictions|Armenia]]
[[Category: Schisms]]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodox|Armenia]]
 
[[ar:الكنيسة الأرمنية]]
[[fr:Église d'Arménie]]
[[ro:Biserica Armeniei]]
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