Armenian Catholic Church facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Armenian Catholic Church
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
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)

The Armenian Catholic Church is a special part of the Catholic Church. It is called an "Eastern Catholic Church" because it follows Eastern Christian traditions. This church accepts the Pope (the leader of the Catholic Church in Rome) as its head. This means it is in full agreement with the worldwide Catholic Church, including the main Latin Church and 22 other Eastern Catholic Churches. The Armenian Catholic Church follows its own set of rules, called "Eastern canon law".

The main leader of the Armenian Catholic Church is the Armenian Catholic patriarch of Cilicia. His main church is the Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminator in Beirut, Lebanon.

History

The Armenian Apostolic Church had some disagreements with a big church meeting called the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. Because of this, they officially separated from the churches that followed the Council in 610 AD. Later, during the Crusades, some Armenian churches tried to reunite with the Catholic Church, but this didn't last. The union was tried again in 1439 at the Council of Florence, but it didn't have a big impact for a long time.

Some Armenians became Catholic over the years. In 1740, a man named Abraham-Pierre I Ardzivian, who was already Catholic, was chosen as the leader (patriarch) of Sis. Two years later, in 1742, Pope Pope Benedict XIV officially created the Armenian Catholic Church. In 1749, the church built a monastery in Bzoummar, Lebanon. During a difficult time for Armenians between 1915 and 1918, many members of the church had to move to nearby countries like Lebanon and Syria.

There were also Armenian Catholic communities in other places. For example, in the 1630s, a community formed among Armenians living in Poland. Their bishop, Mikołaj Torosowicz, joined the Catholic Church. After World War II, many of these Armenians moved to different parts of Poland. Today, they have churches in cities like Gdańsk, Gliwice, and Warsaw. Another community developed in Transylvania (part of modern-day Romania).

Liturgy and Practices

The Armenian Catholic Church uses a special way of worship called the Armenian Rite. This way of worship developed a long time ago and is used by all Armenian Christians. It follows the teachings of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, who is a very important saint for the Armenian Church.

In Armenian Rite churches, you usually see fewer icons (religious images) compared to some other Eastern churches. However, like some other Eastern churches, there is a screen or barrier that separates the priest and the altar from the people during parts of the service. Priests and bishops in the Armenian Catholic Church wear a special tall hat called a mitre, which shows some influence from Western Christian traditions.

Armenian Catholic Communities

The Armenian Catholic Church has communities all over the world, not just in Armenia. You can find many members in places like Lebanon (where the church's main office is), Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, France, the U.S.A., Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, and Australia.

Armenia, Georgia and Eastern Europe

Saint John Church of Sohrol in Iran, built in the 5th or 6th century

The first Armenian Catholics came from areas that are now Armenia, Georgia, and Eastern Europe. Starting in the late 1920s, many Armenian Catholics had to leave their homes because they were being treated unfairly. After the Soviet Union ended in 1991, Pope Pope John Paul II combined the communities in Georgia and Russia with those in Armenia. He created a new church area called the Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Eastern Europe. Its main office is in Gyumri, Armenia, because many Catholic Armenians live in the northern part of the country.

Today, Catholic Armenians in Georgia live in places like Akhaltsikhe and nearby villages. There is also a small school in Gyumri, Armenia, that trains future priests. After their basic studies there, they go to a college in Rome, Italy, to continue learning. Many thousands of Armenian Catholics also live in Russia because many Armenians have moved there since the Soviet Union broke apart.

United States and Canada

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Catholic Cathedral in Glendale, California

About 1.5 million Armenians live in North America, and around 35,000 of them are Armenian Catholic.

In the 1800s, Armenian Catholics from places like Karin (Erzurum) and Constantinople traveled to the United States looking for work. Later, many who survived difficult times in their homeland settled in U.S. cities, especially New York. Armenian Catholic communities also grew in New Jersey, Boston, Detroit, and cities in California like Los Angeles.

Educational groups were also started by Armenian sisters in cities like Philadelphia and Boston to teach children. The Mekhitarists (a group of Armenian Catholic monks) were very important in helping Armenians keep their culture and identity. They helped start the Mekhitarian College in Los Angeles.

In the 1970s and later, many Armenians came to the United States and Canada from countries in the Middle East like Lebanon and Syria. Also, some moved from Argentina because of economic problems there. In 2005, Pope Pope Benedict XVI changed the "Catholic Exarchate of the USA and Canada" into a full diocese (a church district). This diocese serves Armenian Catholics in both the United States and Canada.

France

France has one of the largest groups of Armenian Catholics outside the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris was created in 1960. There are about 30,000 Armenian Catholics in this area, with their main church in Paris. Besides the main cathedral, there are six other churches in different French cities. There are also Mekhitarist monks and Armenian Sisters who run a school in Marseille.

Brazil

The Armenian Catholic community in São Paulo, Brazil, started in 1935. This happened because many Armenian immigrants, mostly from a city in Turkey called Marach, had moved to Brazil since 1923. Their church is located on Tiradentes Avenue in São Paulo.

Demographics

In the early 2000s, it was estimated that there were about 150,000 Catholic Armenians worldwide. Large communities can be found in Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Jerusalem, France, and the United States. The 2017 Annuario Pontificio (a book about the Catholic Church) reported 757,726 members.

Structure

Headquarters of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Bzoummar, Lebanon

Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs in Gyumri, Armenia

Armenian Catholic church of the Holy Trinity in Aleppo, Syria

The Armenian Catholic Church is organized into different areas, similar to dioceses, which help manage the church's activities. These include Archeparchies (like archdioceses), Eparchies (like dioceses), and other special areas.

A map of Armenian Catholic jurisdictions

Current hierarchy

The Armenian Catholic Patriarchate of Cilicia is the highest authority in the Armenian Catholic Church. In September 2021, Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian was chosen as the new patriarch.

Here is a list of the main church areas and how many members they had in different years:

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

See Also

In Spanish: Iglesia católica armenia para niños

• Armenian Apostolic Church
• Armenian Evangelical Church
• Catholic Church in Armenia
• List of Armenian Catholic Patriarchs of Cilicia
• Mechitarist Monks of the Armenian Catholic Church
• Ignatius Maloyan
• Gregorio Pietro Agagianian
• Religion in Armenia