Armenian Apostolic Church
national church of the Armenian people
AI overview
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the national church of the Armenian people, serving as a central institution in Armenian identity and culture. It matters because it has been deeply connected to Armenian history, community, and tradition for centuries.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- armenianchurch.org
- Image
- Tatev Monastery.jpg
Show 7 more facts
- Commons category
- Armenian Apostolic Church
- social media followers
- 5050
- member count
- 9000000
- OpenStreetMap tag
- denomination=armenian_apostolic
- native label
- Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի
- P8248
- Emirate of Dubai
- inception
- 0001-00-00
Sources (4)
~31 min read
Article
The Armenian Apostolic Church (Armenian: Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի, romanized: Hay Aṙaqelakan Ékełetsi) is the autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church uses the Armenian Rite. The Kingdom of Armenia was the first state in history to adopt Christianity as its official religion (under the Armenian Apostolic traditions) during the rule of King Tiridates III, of the Arsacid dynasty in the early 4th century.
According to tradition, the church originated in the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus (Jude) in the 1st century. St. Gregory the Illuminator was the first official primate of the church. It is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Armenian Church or Armenian Gregorian Church.