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The '''Church of Armenia''', sometimes called the '''Armenian Apostolic Church''' or the '''Armenian Orthodox Church''' is an ancient church, originally part of the ancient, undivided Church. It separated from the [[Orthodox Church |Chalcedonian Orthodox]] in AD 506, after the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council|Council of Chalcedon]]. It is one of the [[Oriental Orthodox]] Churches.
[[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.
==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 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.
===The Council of Chalcedon===
Together with the other churches that have come to be called [[Oriental Orthodox]] Churches, the Church of Armenia, [[Schism|split]] with Orthodoxy in the [[5th Century]], rejecting the [[Dogma|dogmas]] of the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council|Council of Chalcedon]] regarding [[Christ|Christ’s]] dual-nature. They are sometimes called [[Monophysite|Monophysites]], 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 Armenian Genocide===
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==Leadership==
The hierarch of the Armenian Church is the '''Catholicos of Armenia'''. The current Catholicos is Garegin II, who resides in the city of Echmiadzin, west of Yerevan. However, a minority of the church has recognized instead the Catholicos of Cilicia, who resides in Antilyas in Lebanon, as a result of a dispute that emerged while Armenia was under Communist rule.
==Armenian Christianity Outside of Armenia==
Today there are large Armenian Orthodox congreations in many middle-eastern countries outside Armenia. Of particular importance is the Armenian Apostolic Church of Iran, where Armenians are the largest Christian ethnic minority. The Armenian Church also is one of the churches (together with the [[Orthodox Church]], the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Church of Alexandria (Coptic)|CopticsCopts]], [[Church of Ethiopia|Ethiopians]] and [[Church of Antioch (Jacobite)|Syrians]]) which cooperates in the use and administration of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)]].
In America, the Armenian Church maintains St. Vartan Cathedral in New York City, and St. Nersess Seminary in New Rochelle, NY. The latter cooperates very closely with [[St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, NY)]].
==Sources==
* Portions of this article have been taken, with modifications, from [http[Wikipedia://www.wikipedia.com/Armenian_Apostolic_Church Wikipedia.comArmenian Apostolic Church]]
* [http://www.armenianchurch.org The Armenian Apostolic Church in America]
==External Links==
* [http://www.armenianchurch.org The Armenian Apostolic Church in America]
* [http://www.stnersess.edu St. Nersess Armenian Seminary]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodox]]