Unusual Burial of an Adult Individual from the Cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church in Armenia (preliminary announcement)

The article summarizes the results of a comparative study of the situation of the Armenian Apostolic and Russian Orthodox Churches in 1917—1945. Methodologically, the research is based on the theory of the dialogue of cultures, which is necessary for understanding and evaluating the current stage of Russian-Armenian relations, understanding the role of interethnic and interreligious cooperation of both states in the post-Soviet space. The study revealed a significant similarity in the fate of the Armenian and Russian churches in the context of the unfolding anti-religious policy during the 1920s and 1930s, which was reflected in the reduction of dioceses, the closure of churches, the arrests of clergy, the emergence of church renewal structures both in the Soviet Russia and in Soviet Armenia. Both churches have gone through the stage of temporary absence of patriarchal administration; Armenian dioceses in the Soviet Russia and Orthodox churches in the Armenian SSR have actually ceased their activities. It is established which events of 1944—1945. they contributed to the resumption of inter-church ties lost in previous decades.

This article reviews the four marks of the Church − Unity, Holiness, Catholicity and Apostolicity − from the perspective of the Armenian Apostolic historical, doctrinal and liturgical tradition, with particular reference to the importance of the total identification of church and people and drawing attention to comparisons with the ecclesiological works and treatises of Western traditions. Within the rich context of the history and liturgical life of the Armenian Orthodox Church, the author expounds the meaning of the four marks of the Church, their co-inherence and linkage with the Incarnation of Christ, which enables the Church, ‘in her earthly and heavenly missions’ to reflect ‘the historical and mystical realities of what the apostles experienced in their mission as witnesses and teachers sent by Jesus Christ himself’.

The Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox have developed distinct traditions. The majority of present-day Orthodox Christians in Central Asia are Slavs who inhabited the Central Asian geography during historical imperial Russian expansion. Central Asia is also home to an Armenian community, affiliated with the Armenian Apostolic Church. Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches operate on a small scale in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Post-Soviet Union, newly independent republics had become Muslim-majority states. The Armenian Oriental Orthodox community survives today primarily in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, with a few tens of thousands per republic. The Oriental Orthodox church in India has split over Syrian Patriarchy, forming the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Historically, the Armenians in Iran preserved their religio-cultural identity and language, not least because of being allowed to operate their own schools under the jurisdiction of the Church. Despite representation in parliament, Armenians have faced more difficulty finding employment due to discrimination. The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians of South and Central Asia have generally managed to maintain their life and witness to present times amid considerable social, religious and political pressures that have made their environments more difficult.

Priesthood in the 21st century Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church : the model of the Celibate Brotherhood of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, Antelias-Lebanon

The article examines the issues of relations between the Russian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Churches in Russian historiography. The methodology is based on classical and modern approaches to the analysis of historiographic sources. The foundation of the Russian Armenian Studies was laid in the 1830s-1850s with the appearance of historical essays, which contained information on the history of Armenia and Armenian communities (including the activities of Armenian dioceses) in Russia. Later, the first scientific works devoted to a comparative analysis of the Armenian and Orthodox dogmas were published. During the Soviet period, the emphasis was mainly put on studying the history of the Armenian diaspora in Russia. However, the Moscow Theological Academy in 1950-1991 reviewed dissertations, the authors of which explored the history and doctrine of the Armenian Church, including its ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. The undeniable achievements of modern historiography include the study of certain aspects of Russian-Armenian church relations, mainly related to the imperial period. The only scientific work where the subject of study is Russian-Armenian interfaith relations in the Middle Ages is the monograph by K.V. Ayvazyan (1989). The first attempt to compile the events related to the ties between the Russian and Armenian churches in the 20th century belongs to the Armenian clergyman V. Hovannisyan (2005). The question of the exact periodization of Russian-Armenian church relations, the analysis of other trends (besides those mentioned above) have not yet been considered in the domestic scientific historical literature, which makes this topic an urgent historiographic issue.

This article introduces two late nineteenth-century colophons written by Syriac Orthodox scribes outside Anatolia commenting on the series of massacres occurring in 1894-1896 across the Ottoman Empire better known as the “Hamidian Massacres” after the reigning Sultan, Abdülhamid II. Adding to the small repository of published Syriac Orthodox testimonies and sources on the Hamidian massacres, these private documents, are of value for opening a window into the early formulation of narratives and historiographies of the massacres which the authors of these colophons present from their own unique vantage point and social position as part of the Syriac Orthodox Church within the empire. Furthermore, the article proposes that understanding the commentary on, and interpretation of, these massacres among the Syriac Orthodox contributes to a greater understanding of the relationship and tensions between Armenian Apostolic Orthodox ecclesiastics and Syriac Orthodox ecclesiastics in the Ottoman Empire of the 1890s. Following a brief consideration of Syriac Orthodox practice in writing colophons and waqfs from 1870-1905 in relevant regions, a reading and interpretation of the colophons is framed through an overview of the massacres, a discussion of the suffering of the Syriac Orthodox during these massacres, and their relationships with the Ottoman State and Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church. The colophons are given in their original languages of Syriac and Arabic (Garshuni) with translations and commentary.

Azerbaijan is a religiously and ethnically polyethnic country. The majority of the population is Azerbaijani Turks, but Russians, Tatars, Georgians, Armenians, Lezgis, Avars, Talysh and many other ethnic groups also live in the country. In terms of religion, Islam is predominant in Azerbaijan. Islam is the official religion of Azerbaijan, and the majority of Muslim Azerbaijanis are Sunni and Shia. In addition, there are Christians mainly members of the Russian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Church, Jews and other religious communities. The government of Azerbaijan implements various policies and laws to protect the rights of religious and ethnic groups and promote social harmony. In addition, there are non governmental organizations and institutions representing various religious and ethnic groups in the country.

This qualitative research on young adults of the Armenian Apostolic and Syriac Orthodox Churches in Lebanon considers why participation in liturgy aids the identity formation of youth in both communities. By participating in liturgical rituals, these young adults express identities which transcend the limited spaces they inhabit. These spaces are influenced by the minority context in Lebanon, as well as by traumatic historic experiences of both Armenians and Syriacs. Such spaces stimulate the youths’ appreciation for their ancient traditions and their strong connection to other members of their church communities, both past and present. Their sense of belonging is rooted in ancient languages and narratives, and in the embodied rituals that open Armenian and Syriac young people up to the divine dimension of liturgy in church and in daily life. We argue that, for the research population, engagement in the liturgy is a matter of identity.

The Armenian Catholic Church of the Holy Saviour Batumi (the city also boasts an Armenian Apostolic Church of the Holy Saviour) is located at 35 Gamsakhurdia Street. It was built in 1886, and the consecration ceremony took place on December 25, on the birthday of Christ the Saviour, according to the Catholic tradition. The church was consecrated by Bishop Johan, the leader of the Armenian Catholics in Ardvin. In 1911 there was also an Armenian Catholic school in the churchyard, while for the Georgian Catholics in the town there was a separate church built at the expense of Stepan Zubalov in 1902. Aslan Abashidze, the ex-head of Adjaria, handed over the Church of the Holy Saviour to the Georgian Orthodox Church. In 2019 its reconstruction began, for which 700 thousand lari were allocated. The Patriarchate of Georgia declared the church to be Orthodox and under its jurisdiction.

A nonconcurrent cohort study was conducted in Lebanon by using the parish records of an Armenian Apostolic Orthodox church. Included in the study were 1,529 married couples. The observation period extended from 1949-1980 with follow-up information available on 90% of the subjects based on a review of burial registers, parish census records, and neighborhood inquiries. Identified during the observation period were 152 widowers and 623 widows. Three analytic procedures were used to compare the mortality of widowed to married subjects: person-years, matched-pair, and life table analyses. The results showed an increased risk of mortality for widowed compared with married subjects, although this excess in risk was not overall statistically significant. Most important was the result that among widowers as opposed to widows the higher risk of mortality acted at approximately ages 66-75 years. The suggested hypotheses to explain this finding include changes in the network size as well as social support systems which act in a particular way in this culture for men at the age of retirement. The results of this initial study of a specific community in a Middle Eastern society parallel findings in studies of Western industrial societies; they also tend to give additional evidence for the association of increased risk when widowhood is accompanied by increased stress caused by other life changes such as retirement.

The paper analyzes how over the past thirty years the canonical structures (dioceses) of the Armenian Apostolic Church were established in the Russian Federation, on the one hand, and how the corresponding structures of the Russian Orthodox Church were established in the Republic of Armenia, on the other. Methodologically, the paper is based on the systematization, classification and analysis of documents, historiographic sources on the topic under consideration, and materials of news stories. The paper offers a new approach where the author considers the process as one of the directions in the context of the recent history of Russian-Armenian inter-church interaction.

In the article the author describes in details peculiarities of relations between Armenian Apostolic Church and Russian Orthodox Church in the two periods of the relationship, prior to inclusion of Eastern Armenia in Russian Empire. Based on analysis of archive documents both in Armenia and Russia, as well as on modern studies, the author represents unique analysis of the topic in the very specific historical period.

This chapter argues that contemporary examples of the genre of the liturgical commentary, read through the long practice of commentary on the liturgy of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, reveal important practical ecclesiological concerns around the shared experience of living in Diaspora. It focuses specifically on the long tradition of liturgical commentaries in the Armenian Apostolic Church, offering a short overview of the commentary genre and the rich body of Armenian liturgical commentaries. Looking at earlier Armenian texts, the chapter argues that the genre of liturgical commentary offers a platform, in large part through a focus on the central sacrament of the eucharist, for clerical writers to express concerns and anxieties about the ecclesiological and communal situation of their time. Turning to two twentieth and twenty-first century commentaries, by Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan and Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, the chapter demonstrates that concerns about modern life, especially about understanding the liturgy and the situation of diaspora, are refracted through these commentaries. It concludes by suggesting that the insights gleaned from reading liturgical commentaries will also be relevant for other Oriental Orthodox churches, who in the twenty-first century share many of the same concerns and the situation of dispersion.

Secularisation theory contends that religiosity and trust in religious organisations tend to decline when trust in their secular counterparts increases. However, it is puzzling why religious organisations receive public trust as high as their secular counterparts in countries where religiosity is low. If religious organisations are deemed to be doomed as trust in secular counterparts rises, why do people still trust them? We argue that a high level of trust in religious organisations is associated with their importance in nation‐building and national identity construction: Individuals with a strong national identity are more likely to trust religious organisations. Using both qualitative and quantitative data about public trust in the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) and Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC), this study finds that the historical role of religious organisations in strengthening national cohesion and building national identity during times of instability leads ordinary citizens to place both generational and strategic trust in these religious organisations.

An analysis of the religious conversions of persons of Armenian confession to Orthodox allows the author to evaluate them as a special phenomenon in the history of Russian-Armenian church relations, as well as to establish the features of economic, social, national, and confessional policies of the Russian Empire in the Transcaucasus in the 19th – early 20th centuries. The sources are the unpublished documents in Russian from the collections of the National Archives of the Republic of Armenia. Based on the available archival sources, it was established that the cases of the adoption of Orthodoxy by the Armenians were caused by three motives: 1) economic, 2) various situations of a non-economic nature, and 3) coercive measures. Despite the absence of a special “Armenian mission” among the Orthodox priests, the cases of Armenians’ conversion to Orthodoxy, especially those made for economic reasons, were rather actively encouraged by the Russian Orthodox Church. For the Russian government, the Armenians who converted to Orthodoxy were seen as a reliable social base in the Transcaucasus. The relevance of studying the issue is since, in the 20th century, despite the contradictions of the synodal period, the Russian Orthodox Church built relations with the Armenian Apostolic Church based on the principles of friendship, good neighborliness, and mutual assistance. Today, this factor contributes to the strengthening of both church and political relations between Russia and Armenia.