Middle East Information Resource
Religions/Belief Systems - Armenian Orthodox
The Armenian Orthodox Church is a Christian church of significance in the Middle East. It’s membership is mostly of Armenian descent. There are about 1 million members of the church, worldwide.
Armenian Orthodox Church is also called Armenian Apostolic Church. This name is based upon the belief that Armenia was Christianized by the two Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus. Around the beginning of the fourth century Christianity becomes state religion of Armenia, when the king was converted by Gregory the Illuminator. He had his headquarters in Echmiadzin, in Armenia.
The Armenian Orthodox Church has one of the oldest traditions in the Christian world. But it has not developed in a vacuum, there have been close contacts with the Syrian church, from which it has received scriptures, liturgy and much of its particular theology. In the fourth century the Armenian Church broke away from the Eastern Orthodox Church, but maintained close ties with the Syrian church. The Armenian Church even used the Syriac alphabet until the fifth century, when the Armenian alphabet was invented. Christian texts were translated into Armenian around this time.
Around 500 the Armenian Church rejected the conclusion of the Council of Chalcedon, in 451, which defined Jesus as of 2 natures, divine and human, coexisting in one body. In 485 the headquarters of the Church were moved to Dvin. In 506 the Armenian Church adopted the Monophysite doctrine of the dual nature of Jesus, which they had previously rejected. In the seventh century the Georgian branch broke away from the Armenian Church, and joined the Greek Orthodox Church. The Armenian Church continued to associate closely with the Coptic Church and Syrian Jacobite churches. In 1293 the Church headquarters is moved to Sis (Kozan), in Turkey.
In the 14th century the patriarchate of Jerusalem is founded by local Christians. In 1441 the headquarters of the Church were moved to Echmiadzin. Here the institution of the `Katholikos of all Armenians` was established. In 1461 the patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul) is created by Sultan Mehmed II, in order to have a credible represtative of Armenian Christians living in the Ottoman Empire.
In 1742 part of the Armenian Church breaks away and forms the Armenian Catholic Church. During World War I the Armenians suffered heavy persecution under the Ottoman regime. About one million of them were killed. In 1930 the Katholikos of Sis moved to Antelias, Lebanon, seeking refuge from Muslim oppression.
The organization of the Armenian Orthodox Church is complex, reflecting its eventful history. This is the result of the comings and goings of splinter groups, and the Church’s changes in local. Today, the highest position in the Church is the Katholikos, the equivalent of archbishop. There are 2 Katholikos, the supreme Katholikos in Echmiadzin, Armenia, and the Katholikos of the Middle East, located in Antelias, Lebanon. There are 2 patriarchs, one in Istanbul, Turkey and one in Jerusalem, Israel. While the Katholikos of Echmiadzin is officially the head of the church, many believers support the Katholikos in Antelias.
The Church has about 1 million members, worldwide. There are approximately 150,000 Armenian Orthodox in Iran, in Syria, and almost as many in Lebanon. About 65,000 are in Turkey, about 20,000 in Iraq, 10,000 in Israel, 7,000 in Egypt, and a few in Kuwait. In Lebanon the Armenian Orthodox live in central parts of the country, in Iraq they mainly live in Baghdad. In Israel most live in Jerusalem. In Palestinian territories, the few Armenian Orthodox live in Bethlehem and Ramallah.