Armenian Church

“ The Armenian Church, which has not ceased to be autonomous, is the most democratic of the ancient Christian Churches; it is the only one in which laymen take part with the priests in the election of the head of the Church, the Catholicos, who lives in the Convent of Etchmiadzin, in Russian Armenia. ”

“ A brief reference already has been made to the emissaries and missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church, who early, though unsuccessfully, endeavored to bring the Armenian Church under the influence and control of the popes of Rome. Yet it may not be considered a complete failure, especially after the establishment of the Mukhetarist convent and the activities of its monks, who edited many ancient Armenian works of those who were leaning toward the papal views. As the result about one hundred thousand Armenians cut loose from the Mother Church and formed the Catholic Armenian Church. ”

“ The prospect of reform is brightened by three facts: first, the Armenian church is essentially democratic, and is not in bondage to any “infallible” human authority; second, her errors of doctrine and practice are not fundamental, and, having never been sanctioned by councils, but simply by custom and tradition, can in due time be discarded; third, she has always acknowledged the supreme authority of the Bible, which is no longer a sealed book, having been translated into the modern tongue by American missionaries, very widely scattered, and at last gladly 142received by all classes. ”

“ And so every Armenian scholar has his own theology. I confess that the Armenian Church has not a theology, or an especial official doctrine; and this is a very fortunate thing for the Armenians. They care more for righteousness of life than for particular beliefs about the way of getting it. When there was a great controversy in the Council of Chalcedon, 451 A.D., about the nature of Christ, Armenians did not care about it. Some of the great theologians said Christ had two natures ”

“ The Armenian church, as befits the first and most Christ-like of all the bodies that professed Christ before Luther’s time, has always been the broadest, the most inclusive, the most untechnical of churches. ”

“ The Armenian Church is a democratic church, for the clergy in the villages are appointed and paid by their own congregations, and often in poor places the priest and his wife work in the fields with the peasants. ”

“ Like the Greek, the Armenian clergy are of two orders, secular and monastic; the former are allowed to marry, but never occupy a high position in the church. They are usually very poor, even poorer and more retired than the Greek parish priests, living like the lower orders of the people, who look upon them as their friends. Although ignorant, they are much respected for the morality of their lives, but knowing nothing more than the routine of their office they are unable to give any religious instruction to their parishioners beyond that contained in the books of prayer used in the church ”

“ He lived in the third century, and was the restorer of the Church in Armenia, suffering hardship and persecution for many years. The Armenian Church is very ancient, Christianity having been brought to the people in Apostolic times. ”

“ The name Armenian Church presents no difficulty: it is the National Church of that race. Uniate Armenian is clear enough too. But in this case the faulty classification is less innocent than that of the Copts. The Uniate Copts are a very small body. The Uniate Armenians are a large, flourishing and important part of the nation. Can we hand over the title "Armenian Church," without qualification, to their adversaries? Certainly the Uniate would protest that his Church is at least also an Armenian Church; he would point out that one can be a good Armenian without being a Monophysite. ”

“ His flock, some two hundred strong, remains faithful to its ancient tenets, and has as yet given no recruits to the rival establishment. This is strange, as the Armenian Church has furnished the whole of some hundred and twenty Armenian boys, and two hundred Armenian communicants to the Church of England in Julfa; but as many of these latter benefit directly or indirectly, or are merely temporary Protestants to annoy their relatives, or to obtain protection, the result of the whole thing cannot be considered a success as yet—in eleven years a single Mahommedan convert not having been obtained. ”

“ Still, in sentiment, you have—not eight thousand, but eight hundred thousand followers. We shall never be called Protestants; it is not an Armenian term; but we hope to see the day when the Armenian Church will be as evangelical as yours."
The present Theological Seminaries are at Harpoot, Marsovan, Marash, and Mardin. There are, besides these, theological classes at Cesarea, Broosa, Sivas, Harpoot, Bitlis, Erzroom, and Eski Zagra. ”

“ To realize its oriental color one must resort entirely to that portion which deals with the home life of the people, with their fasts and festivals, their emotions, manners, and traditions. The ecclesiastical character of much of the early Armenian literature is accounted for by the fact that Christianity was preached there in the first century after Christ, by the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, and that the Armenian Church is the oldest national Christian Church in the world. ”

“ But this is not all; for while the Armenians were driven into the mountainous districts of Cilicia, the land of the brave apostle Paul, by the Mongolian and Tatar invaders who spread desolation, destruction, and death wherever their feet touched the soil, there came with the appearance of the Crusaders into the East a number of zealous missionaries of the Romish church, who neglected even to attempt a quiet missionary work among the Mohammedans, but insidiously first, then openly, tried to bring the Armenian church into a subordination and under the jurisdiction of the popes of Rome. ”

“ No greater service could be rendered to the Armenian people than aid and encouragement in establishing institutions for the education of the clergy, who under present circumstances are their natural leaders. The twentieth century will bring, we hope, better political privileges. But unless, in the meantime, the ancient church has maintained her hold on the conscience of the rising generation, she is in danger of sinking into the position of the church in France. ”

“ It is to be hoped that the time will come when the children of the Armenian church of every shade will no longer look upon her as a mother frail and failing, yet to be treated with respect while she lasts; nor as a mother ignorant and bigoted beyond hope of reform ”

“ The common door which connects the Armenian Church with the Basilica is closed daily by the Orthodox after sunset prayers. The Armenians have also a key to this door and can open it without any restriction whenever required.
The Armenians have the right to pass through the Nave with their wedding ceremonies, baptisms, and funerals on prior notification being made to the Government, who in due course communicate same in writing to the Orthodox. ”

“ At first there was no separate episcopal ordination, and the one rite of elder or priest (Armen. Qahanay, Heb. cohen) sufficed. There were also deacons, half-deacons and readers. Besides these there was a class of wardapets or teachers, answering to the didascalos of the earliest church, whose province it was to guard the doctrine and for whom no rite of ordination is found in the older rituals.
A few other peculiarities of Armenian church usage or belief deserve notice. ”

“ The native ministers and native churches are the main thing. And it must be admitted, that the Gospel, through the grace of God, has been republished, and its institutions replanted, extensively and most hopefully in the Armenian Church of the Orient. "In the midst of fermentation," writes the Constantinople station in 1872, "the leaven of truth is making its way; and so is, also, that of infidelity; but the latter is temporary in its influence, the former permanent. There is far more Protestantism outside of the Protestant church than within it. ”

“ As a priest, he is allowed to marry; however, like the clergy belonging to the Greek Church, if his wife dies, the Armenian cannot take unto himself a second spouse. He then may become a monk, and live, free of expense, in one of the monasteries. Next in order, but above the monks, are the 243 bishops and the two patriarchs—one residing in Constantinople, the other at Jerusalem—the patriarch at Constantinople being looked up to by the Armenians as a sort of civil head, besides being their spiritual guide. ”

“ His sacred elegies (ninety-five in number) are elevated in style, showing Arabian influence, and very pure in sentiment. His canticles and melodies are still chanted in the Armenian Church. Verbosity is a characteristic of his work; in one passage the word “God” is accompanied by ninety adjectives.
He was greatly loved and revered by the people, but he aroused jealousy in some of his ecclesiastical colleagues. On one occasion, they went to the Catholicos with accusations against him. The Catholicos appointed priests to investigate the case. ”

“ Thus the Christian National Church has been one of the chief factors of the unity and the national consciousness which exists among Armenians even up to the present day, and this is the reason why the battle of Vardan is regarded as a national triumph and is still annually commemorated.22
When Armenia had ceased to be an independent state, its literature became more religious, as the clergy were anxious to foster devotion. Christianity introduced a new kind of poetry, namely, Church hymns and chants. These were called, in Armenian, sharakans. ”

“ The national life of the Armenian people still survived in spite of the loss of their independence, and, as was the case in Greece under the Turks, their religion and the national church served as the rallying point of their eager, undying patriotism. Though a certain number, under the pressure of cruel persecution, have embraced Islam, yet the bulk of the race has remained true to its ancient faith. ”

“ Leonard, of Marsovan, under date of January, 1871. "Evidence," he says, "of a gradual reform in the Oriental churches, especially the Armenian Church, chiefly as the result of evangelical labors, crops out in almost every city. Consecrated pictures leave church walls for the garret; silver crosses go into the refining pot; auricular confession is neglected; many superstitious ceremonies and foolish restrictions, imposed by the priesthood, are regarded only as a curious relic of the past. ”

“ The Blessing of the Water can not be said to have so great a social value, occurring as it does in some parts of the country once every week. And yet this service is unusually well attended, largely because of the superstitions connected with the blessed water. Religion here appears to offer its biggest attraction to the less fortunate, such as the rheumatic, the tubercular, the dyspeptic, the epileptic, and the feeble-minded. But enough facts have been mentioned to show that the Armenian church is something more than an institution of cure and relief. ”

“ The most important event in the history of any nation is its conversion to Christianity, and therefore we wish to know when the Armenians first came to believe in Christ, and how it came about. Of course it did not come all at once; but it came very early, and the story of the first converts is very curious. According to the Armenian church history, and also the great Christian father Eusebius, it came through King Abgar or Apkar (Abgarus) , the fifteenth king of the little kingdom of Osrhoene, in northern Mesopotamia, whose capital was the flourishing city of Edessa, now Oorfa ”