Armenian Catholic Church

Armenian Catholic Church
; Armenian Catholic Church
Armenian: Հայ Կաթողիկէ Եկեղեցի
	Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminator in Beirut, the seat of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate of Cilicia.
Classification	Eastern Catholic
Orientation	Eastern Christianity (Armenian)
Theology	Catholic theology
Polity	Episcopal
Pope	Francis
Patriarch	Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian
Region	Armenian diaspora
Language	Armenian
Liturgy	Armenian Rite
Headquarters	Cathedral of St Elias and St Gregory the Illuminator, Beirut, Lebanon
Founder	Abraham Petros I Ardzivian
Origin	1742 ; Ottoman Empire (modern Armenia)
Separated from	Armenian Apostolic Church
Members	150,000 (independent estimates); 757,726 (2017 Annuario Pontificio)
Official website	www.armeniancatholic.org

The Armenian Catholic Church^[a] is an Eastern Catholic particular churches sui iuris of the Catholic Church. It accepts the leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with the universal Catholic Church, including the Latin Church and the 22 other Eastern Catholic Churches. The Armenian Catholic Church is regulated by Eastern canon law, summed up in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

The head^[4]^[5] of the sui iuris Armenian Catholic Church is the Armenian Catholic patriarch of Cilicia, whose main cathedral and de facto archiepiscopal see is the Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminator, in Beirut, Lebanon.

Armenian Caritas is the official aid organisation of the Catholic Church in Armenia.

History

The Armenian Church took issue with the 451 Council of Chalcedon and formally broke off communion with the Chalcedonian Churches at the 3rd Synod of Dvin in 610. Some Armenian bishops and congregations made attempts to restore communion with the Chalcedonian Churches after the 6th Ecumenical Council of 681. During the Crusades in 1198, the Church of the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia entered into union with the Catholic Church, an attempt that did not last. The union was later re-established during the Council of Florence in 1439,^[6] but did not have any real effects for centuries.

Some Armenians converted to Catholicism, and in the absence of any specific Armenian Catholic Church in effect became Latins. In medieval China, local Armenians were converted to Catholicism by John of Montecorvino in Beijing and there was also an Armenian Franciscan Catholic community in Quanzhou.

In 1740, Abraham-Pierre I Ardzivian, who had earlier become a Catholic, was elected as the patriarch of Sis. Two years later, Pope Benedict XIV formally established the Armenian Catholic Church. In 1749, the Armenian Catholic Church built a convent in Bzoummar, Lebanon. During the Armenian genocide in 1915–1918, the Church was scattered in neighboring countries, mainly in Lebanon and Syria.

An Armenian Catholic community was also previously formed by Armenians living in Poland in the 1630s. The Armenian bishop of Leopolis (see Armenian Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv), Nicholas (Polish: Mikołaj) Torosowicz had entered into union with the Catholic Church. The community which had been historically centered in Galicia as well as in the pre-1939 Polish borderlands in the east, was expelled after World War II to present-day Poland and now has three parishes: in Gdańsk, in Gliwice and in Warsaw.

There is also a history of conversion of Armenians in Transylvania, which went hand in hand with their acculturation under Hungarian influence and policies (see Gherla and Dumbrăveni). Their descendants are part of the Armenian community of modern-day Romania and are tended to by the Ordinariate for Armenian Catholics of Romania.

Liturgy and practices

The Armenian Rite liturgy, as celebrated in the Armenian language, developed prior to the post-Chalcedonian interruption of communion and hence is historically common to all Armenian Christians. It is patterned after the directives of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, founder and patron saint of the Armenian Church. It is used by both the Armenian Apostolic Church, by the Armenian Catholic Church, and by a significant number of Eastern Catholic Christians in the Republic of Georgia. Unlike the Byzantine Church, church buildings of the Armenian rite usually have only a few icons, but like some other Eastern churches have a barrier concealing the priest and the altar from the people during parts of the liturgy. The use of bishop's mitre is reminiscent of the influence Western missionaries once had upon both the miaphysite Orthodox Armenians as well as upon the Armenian Rite Catholics.^{[citation needed]}

Armenian Catholic communities

Apart from Armenia, Georgia and Russia, the Armenian Catholic Church is found widely in the Armenian diaspora, notably in Lebanon (where the Armenian Catholic Church is headquartered), Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, France, U.S.A., Canada, Argentina, Uruguay and Australia.

Armenia, Georgia and Eastern Europe

Armenian Catholics originated in what is today Armenia, Georgia and Eastern Europe. Beginning in the late 1920s, persecution caused many Armenian Catholics to emigrate. In 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Bishop of Rome, Pope John Paul II merged the communities in Georgia and Russia with those in Armenia, creating the new Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Eastern Europe, with its residence in Gyumri. The city was not chosen by chance: most Catholic Armenians live in the northern parts of Armenia. This has become a kind of basis for fence-mending with the coreligionists on the other side of the border.

Today Catholic Armenians of Samtskhe-Javakheti live together in Akhaltsikhe and in the nearby villages, as well as in the regions of Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda. The communities in the last two regions, which are mainly rural, are found in rather distant areas, but the most important link is the historical memory of Catholicism.

A small seminary was established in Gyumri, Armenia, in 1994; there candidates for the priesthood engage in basic studies before moving to the Pontifical College of the Armenians (established 1885) in Rome, where they pursue philosophy and theology.

There are also tens of thousands of Armenian Catholics in Russia, due to the extensive migration from Armenia to Russia that has occurred since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

United States and Canada

Currently around 1.5 million Armenians live in North America, of which 35,000 belong to the Armenian Catholic Church.

In the 19th century Catholic Armenians from Western Armenia, mainly from the towns and cities of Karin (Erzurum), and from Constantinople and Mardin, traveled to the United States seeking employment. By the end of that century, many survivors of the Hamidian Massacres had concentrated in several U.S. cities, chiefly in New York. Catholic Armenian communities were also founded in New Jersey, in Boston and Detroit, as in Los Angeles and other cities of California.

Catholic Armenian educational organizations were also founded in many cities. In Philadelphia and Boston, colleges were founded by Armenian sisters, educating hundreds of children. Later, a similar college was founded in Los Angeles. The Mechitarists in particular were preoccupied with the problem of preserving Armenian identity. With the support of the Mekhitarists of Venice and Vienna, the Mekhitarian College was founded in Los Angeles.

Many Armenians came to the United States and Canada from the Middle Eastern countries of Lebanon and Syria in the 1970s and in later years. Moreover, many Armenians migrated from Argentina, because of the economic crisis there. At the same time, many Catholic Armenians moved within the United States to San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Miami and Indianapolis.

In 2005, by Pope Benedict XVI's decision, the Catholic Exarchate of the USA and Canada was raised to the status of a diocese. It serviced 35,000 Catholic Armenians in the United States and some 10,000 in Canada. The bishop, or eparch, of the diocese, which has jurisdiction over Canadian and American Catholics who are members of the Armenian Catholic Church, became Manuel Batakian. According to a news release by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published on Monday, May 23, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI, named Archpriest Mikaël Antoine Mouradian, superior of the Convent of Notre Dame in Bzommar, Lebanon, as the new bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in New York for Armenian Catholics. The appointment of Lebanon-born Bishop Mouradian was publicized in Washington on May 21 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.^[7]

France

Next to North America, France holds the largest number of Armenian Catholics outside the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris was established in 1960 with Bishop Garabed Armadouni as exarch. Since 1977, the eparchy has been led by Bishop Krikor Gabroyan.

There are some 30,000 Armenian Catholics in the eparchy, the headquarters of which are in Paris. Apart from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Paris, the eparchy has six churches: in Arnouville-lès-Gonesse, Lyon, Marseille, Saint-Chamond, Sèvres and Valence. A community of Mekhitarist Fathers resides in Sèvres and a convent of Armenian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception runs a school in Marseille.

Brazil

The Catholic Armenian Community of São Paulo was founded in 1935, as the Chaplaincy of the Catholic Armenian Mission, responding to requests from Armenian immigrants who had settled in Brazil since 1923, mostly from Marach, actually a city of Turkey. The church is between the metro stations Armênia and Tiradentes, at Tiradentes Avenue #718.^[8]

Demographics

Estimates from the 19th century varied between 40.000^[9] to 150.000 ^[10] Armenian Catholics worldwide, and 136,400 in 1911^[11]

Independent sources estimate the number of Catholic Armenians in the early 21st century at 150,000, with sizable communities in Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Jerusalem, France and the United States.^[1]^[2]

Structure

The Armenian Catholic Church is divided into Archdioceses, Eparchies, Apostolic Exarchates, Ordinariates for the Faithful of the Eastern Rite and Patriarchal Exarchates, each of which has functions similar to a diocese.

A map of Armenian Catholic jurisdictions

Current hierarchy

The Armenian Catholic Patriarchate of the See of Cilicia is the supreme authority of the Armenian Catholic Church. On 23 September 2021, Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian was elected as the Church's new patriarch.^[12]

Below is a list of the jurisdictions with their number of adherents.^[13]

Archeparchies (Archdioceses)	1990	2000	2017
Patriarchate of Cilicia, also sole Metropolitanate as Armenian Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut, Lebanon (Patriarchal proper archdiocese)	15,000	12,000	12,500
Archeparchy of Aleppo (Halab, Beroa), Syria	15,000	17,000	7,000
Archeparchy of Baghdad, Iraq	2,200	2,000	2,400
Archeparchy of Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey	3,700	3,680	2,500
Archeparchy of Lviv, Ukraine	N/A	N/A	0
Suffragan Eparchies in the Patriarch's Metropolitan Province of Cilicia
Ispahan, Iran	2,200	2,200	150
Alexandria (Iskanderiya) actually in Cairo, Egypt	1,500	1,287	6,500
Kameshli ((Al-)Qamishli), Syria	4,303	4,000	3,500
Other Eparchies (dioceses), in the diaspora
Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in the United States of America and Canada	34,000	36,000	36,000
Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris, France	30,000	30,000	35,000
Eparchy of Saint Gregory of Narek, Buenos Aires	established in 1989	16,000	16,350
Apostolic Exarchates (missionary, directly dependent on the Holy See)
Armenian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Latin America and Mexico	30,000	12,000	12,000
Ordinariates for the Faithful of the Eastern Rites
Greece (Athens)	650	600	200
Ordinariate for Romania (Gherla)	N/A	1,000	626
Eastern Europe (except Romania) (Gyumri, Armenia)	established in 1991	220,000	618,000
Patriarchal Exarchates
Damascus, part of Syria	9,000	8,000	4,500
Jerusalem and Amman (Jordan & Holy Land)	N/A	280	500
TOTAL	142,853	362,047	757,726

Titular Metropolitan Archeparchies

Achrida (Ohrid), Pessinus, Traianopolis in Rhodope

Titular Non-metropolitan Archeparchies

Chalcedon, Colonia in Armenia, Mardin, Nisibis of the Armenians, Sebaste, Tarsus

Titular Eparchies

Adana, Amida, Anazarbus, Ancyra, Artvin, Cesarea in Cappadocia, Garin, Kharput, Marasc, Melitene, Mush, Prusa, Tokat, Trapezus

Publications

The Armenian Catholic Church produces a number of publications:

Avedik, the official organ of the church
Avedaper Verelk, a religious, spiritual and cultural publication of St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Church
Avedaper, a weekly bulletin of the Armenian Catholic dioceses
Gantch Hrechdagabedin, official publication of the Our Lady of Bzommar Convent
Massis, a general monthly publication
Church bulletins

The Armenian Catholic Church has presses that publish many liturgical, spiritual books, publications, pamphlets and translations from general Catholic publications.

Gallery

Armenian Catholic parishes
Armenian Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity in Gliwice, Poland, built in 1836–38
Interior of the Armenian Church in Stanyslaviv, Ukraine (1763)
St. Gregory the Illuminator – St. Elie Church, Debbas Square, downtown Beirut, Lebanon (1909)
St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Glendale, California (2001)
Armenian Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Bzommar, Montevideo, Uruguay
Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Jerusalem (1996)
Interior view of Armenian Catholic Church (Buenos Aires)
Armenian Catholic Church in São Paulo

Notes

^ Armenian: Հայ Կաթողիկէ Եկեղեցի, romanized: Hay Kat’ołikē Ekełec’i; Latin: Ecclesia armeno-catholica

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b Adalian, Rouben Paul (2010). Historical Dictionary of Armenia. Scarecrow Press. p. 233. ISBN 9780810874503.
^ ^a ^b Tchilingirian, Hratch. "The Armenian Church: A Brief Introduction" (PDF). hygradaran. Armenian Church Library. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2019. According to Vatican sources, some 250,000 Armenians belong to the Armenian Catholic Church (others put the number closer to 150,000) with communities in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Jerusalem and the US.
^ Roberson, Ronald G. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2016" (PDF). Eastern Catholic Churches Statistics. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
^ Armenian Catholic Church Written by: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
^ The Eastern Catholic Churches: Part 2, the Armenian Rite
^ Curtin, D. P. (January 2007). Laetentur Caeli: Bulls of Union with the Greeks, Armenians, Coptic, and Ethiopian Churches. ISBN 9798869171504.
^ "Pope Names New Eparch for Armenian Catholics In US And Canada". USCCB News Release. 21 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25.
^ "Histórico". Paróquia Armênia Católica São Gregório Iluminator. 27 April 2023.
^ "Reviews". Evangelical Christendom: Its State and Prospects. I. London: Evangelical Alliance: 393. 1847.
^ Russell, C. W. (May 1842). "The Armenian Convent of San Lazzaro, at Venice". The Dublin Review. 12: 375.
^ Ormanian, Malachia (1911). Հայոց եկեղեցին և իր պատմութիւնը, վարդապետութիւնը, վարչութիւնը, բարեկարգութիւնը, արաողութիւնը, գրականութիւն, ու ներկայ կացութիւնը [The Church of Armenia: her history, doctrine, rule, discipline, liturgy, literature, and existing condition] (in Armenian). Constantinople. pp. 259–267.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ "Արհ. Տ. Ռաֆայէլ Արքեպիսկոպոս Մինասեան ընտրուեցաւ Տանն Կիլիկիոյ Կաթողիկէ Հայոց ԻԱ Պատրիարք". vaticannews.va. Vatican News. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
^ "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2-008" (PDF). cnewa.org. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2018-12-03.