Presentation about the Religion in Armenia

Armenia: Routes of Religion

Armenian Apostolic Church

uArmenian: Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի, transl. Hay Aṙak'elakan Yekeghetsi

uPart of Oriental Orthodoxy ( it is one of the most ancient Christian communities)

uThe Kingdom of Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion under the rule of King Tiridates in 301

uIt is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Orthodox Church or Gregorian Church. The latter is not preferred by the church itself, as it views the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus as its founders, and St. Gregory the Illuminator as merely the first official governor of the church. It is also simply known as the Armenian Church.

Orthodox Churches in Armenia

uChurch of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God

uThe church was built in the village of Kanaker-since absorbed by Yerevan-7 kilometres north of the capital's old centre in 1912. Being part of the Yerevan Governorate of the Russian Empire, the church was built to serve the 2nd Caucasian division of the Russian troops deployed near Yerevan, which consisted mainly of Cossacks from Kuban and Poltava. It was designed by the Russian architect Fyodor Verzhbitsky after the fashion typical to military churches. Upon its inauguration, the church was named after Saint Alexander Nevsky.

uDuring the Soviet period, the church was closed and turned into a warehouse, and was reopened with the independence of Armenia in 1991. It was entirely renovated in 2000. The centennial of the church's consecration was commemorated in October 2012, with representatives from the Russian Orthodox Church present.

Churches in Armenia in middle ages and during the Persian invasion, when Armenia was conquered by the Persian empire.

Christianity in Armenia

Armenian Apostolic Church

Armenia adopted Christianity in 301.

The Armenian Apostolic Church (Armenian: Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի, translit. Hay Aṙak'elakan Yekeghetsi)[a] is the national church of the Armenian people. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian communities.[3] The Kingdom of Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion under the rule of King Tiridates in the early 4th century.[4][5] The church claims to have originated in the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century, by tradition. It is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Orthodox Church or Gregorian Church. The latter is not preferred by the church itself, as it views the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus as its founders, and St. Gregory the Illuminator as merely the first official governor of the church. It is also simply known as the Armenian Church.

Origins

by tradition. It is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Orthodox Church or Gregorian Church. The latter. The Armenian Church believes in apostolic succession through the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus. According to legend, the latter of the two apostles is said to have cured Abgar V of Edessa of leprosy with the Image of Edessa, leading to his conversion in 30 AD. Thaddaeus was then commissioned by Abgar to proselytize throughout Armenia, where he converted the king Sanatruk's daughter, who was eventually martyred alongside Thaddeus when Sanatruk later fell into apostasy. After this, Bartholomew came to Armenia, bringing a portrait of the Virgin Mary, which he placed in a nunnery he founded over a former temple of Anahit. Bartholomew then converted the sister of Sanatruk, who once again martyred a female relative and the apostle who converted her. Both apostles ordained native bishops before their execution, and some other Armenians had been ordained outside of Armenia by James the Just.] Scholars including Bart Ehrman, Han Drijvers, and W. Bauer dismiss the conversion of Abgar V as fiction.

Islam in Armenia

Islam began to make inroads into the Armenian Plateau during the seventh century. Arab, and later Kurdish, tribes began to settle in Armenia following the first Arab invasions and played a considerable role in the political and social history of Armenia. With the Seljuk invasions of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Turkic element eventually superseded that of the Arab and Kurdish. With the establishment of the Persian Safavid Dynasty, Afsharid Dynasty, Zand Dynasty and Qajar Dynasty, Armenia became an integral part of the Shia Persian world, while still maintaining a relatively independent Christian identity. The pressures brought upon the imposition of foreign rule by a succession of Muslim states forced many lead Armenians in Anatolia and what is today Armenia to convert to Islam and assimilate into the Muslim community. Many Armenians were also forced to convert to Islam, on the penalty of death, during the years of the Armenian Genocide.

Medieval

The Muslim element in Armenia grew progressively stronger during the medieval period. Following the Byzantine defeat at Manzikert in 1071, waves of Turkic nomads making their way from Central Asia and northern Iran penetrated and eventually settled throughout the span of Armenia and Anatolia.