Introducing the Armenian Apostolic Church (Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin)

    In the first century, the unified Armenian Church was started through the preaching of St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew, two of the apostles of Christ. They founded the first Christian communities in the country. In 301 AD, Armenia adopted Christianity as the state religion. The center of the Armenian Church was the Mother See of Etchmiadzin, which was, and still is, located near the capital city called Yerevan. The Armenian Church bases all doctrine on the Bible, Holy Tradition, and the decisions of the first three ecumenical councils- Nicaea, Constantinople, and Ephesus. The church bases its Christology, or doctrine concerning Christ, on the definition set forth in the Council of Ephesus. Jesus is presented as "one in the nature of the incarnate word." The Council of Chalcedon (451) is not accepted nor any council thereafter. The Church has also rejected the teachings set forth by Nestorius and Eutyches (WCC). This is fascinating because Eutyches promoted the belief of Monophysitism which held the belief that Christ had two "unified" natures- the divine and the human. Oriental Orthodox Churches are known for their adoption of this belief; however, the Armenian Church has been clear in denouncing the Monophysite doctrine. There will be a post sometime soon about the reasons for the Oriental Church Schism and how Monophysitism was involved, but for now, based on common historical knowledge, it is interesting that the church known for Monophysite belief has historically denounced Monophysite belief. As I said earlier, I will be posting much more details about this in a future post. 

    The Mother See of Etchmiadzin, along with other monastic communities, aided the Armenian kingdom by contributing to faith, the arts, culture, literature, and science. This church provides for the unity of the Armenian people still to this day as it has throughout its history (WCC). The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin serves today as the center of Armenian Church authority just as it has since the 4th century when it was made the seat of the Armenian Catholicate by St. Gregory the Illuminator with the help of King Tiridates III. Before the church was officially established, St. Gregory the Illuminator had a vision of Jesus. Jesus presented himself as a mighty figure surrounded by light and an angelic host. Jesus pounded the ground with a hammer made of gold in order to designate that the Mother Cathedral of Armenia was to be built in Etchmiadzin. Etchmiadzin literally means, "where the Only Begotten descended" (The Armenian Church). This church is separate from the Holy See in Cilicia, but is definitely more powerful over the hearts and minds of the Armenian population. The Holy See in Cilicia exists more to guide the spiritual lives of diaspora Armenians. The Mother See of Etchmiadzin leads the Armenian people in Armenia and all those who follow the church from around the world. Both of these churches work together and are in communion with one another, but you can think of the Etchmiadzin church as having primacy over all other expressions of the Armenian faith. Another interesting note is that Etchmiadzin is located near Mount Ararat, which is where Noah supposedly landed after the flood according to the Bible (The Armenian Church). The Armenian Church teaches that there are seven sacraments just like all of the other Oriental Orthodox Churches. It is fairly similar in belief to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Peace!


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