Armenians

The pre-Christian religious environment. The materials name Aramazd, Anahit, Vahagn, Mihr and other deities. Information about cults comes mainly from the works of fifth-century Christian authors and from archaeology; it requires comparison, since a late account is not the same as direct observation of an ancient rite. Local, Iranian and Hellenistic connections. Religious culture combined local traditions and external influences. The names and images of some deities are linked to the Iranian world, while others were equated with Greek gods. It is impossible to reduce all pre-Christian practices to a single unchanging system. Deities and places of worship. James Russell regards Aramazd as a supreme deity, Anahit as one of the principal worshipped goddesses, and Mihr in connection with the Iranian tradition of Mithra. Local cults and their Hellenistic equivalences changed; the descriptions of Christian authors require historical criticism. Before the conversion of the royal court. Christian communities and preaching appeared earlier than the official adoption of the religion. Ties with the Syriac-speaking and Greek-speaking milieu played an important role in the early spread of Christianity. The apostolic tradition. The Armenian Church traces its apostolic origin to the preaching of Thaddeus and Bartholomew. This is a church tradition; it must be distinguished from independently dated documents and archaeological evidence. Gregory the Illuminator and Trdat III. The conversion of the royal authority is associated with Gregory the Illuminator and King Trdat III. The year 301 is traditionally given; scholars also discuss later dates for the beginning of the fourth century, including 314–315. A state decision did not mean the instant conversion of all inhabitants. How to read Agathangelos. Robert Thomson dates the known Armenian recension of the "History" to the second half of the fifth century. The text combines various traditions and hagiographic motifs; the narrator's claim of eyewitnesstestimony does not make it a record by a contemporary of the conversion at the beginning of the fourth century. Syrian and Cappadocian connections. Scholars distinguish the early preaching from the Syrian south and subsequent ties with Caesarea in Cappadocia. The transmission of the faith, the ordination of bishops and translations developed through several cultural milieus. How the new faith spread. Christianization included the establishment of a church hierarchy, instruction, the building of churches and the transformation of public rites. It continued over generations and was accompanied by resistance. The date of the royal conversion cannot be considered the date of the disappearance of all earlier beliefs. Alphabet, translations and monasteries. The creation of a script around 405–406 made it possible to translate the Scriptures and compose original texts. The work of Mesrop Mashtots, Catholicos Sahak and their circle expanded access to religious literature in Armenian. From manuscript to printed book. The first complete printed Armenian Bible, prepared by Voskan Yerevantsi, was published in Amsterdam in 1666. In 1733 Mekhitar of Sebastia published a new edition in Venice. Diaspora book centers supported education and religious culture. The Armenian Apostolic Church. It belongs to the ancient Eastern, or Oriental Orthodox, churches. It accepts the first three Ecumenical Councils and does not accept the Council of Chalcedon of 451. Its doctrine should be described in its own historical context, without inaccurate identification with other Orthodox jurisdictions. Avarayr and religious choice. The fifth-century uprising and the battle of 451 are connected with resistance to the attempt by the Sasanian authorities to impose Zoroastrianism on Christian Armenia. Military defeat and subsequent religious memory have different meanings; later narratives should not be read as precise statistics of the battle. The councils of Dvin. The first council is dated to 505/506, the second in research is assigned to 552, 554 or 555. The second is associated with the condemnation of Chalcedon and the adoption of the Armenian calendar. The formation of the church's position proceeded in stages and was not completed by a single decision in 451. Church centers and continuity. In 1441 the catholicosate was restored in Etchmiadzin; this did not mean the cessation of the Cilician catholicosate. The history of church centers reflects population movements and political changes. Armenian Catholics. Catholic ties and communities existed before the eighteenth century. In 1742 Pope Benedict XIV confirmed the patriarchal ministry of Abraham Ardzivian. The Armenian Catholic Church preserves the Armenian rite and is in communion with Rome. Evangelical communities. The Armenian Evangelical Church arose in Constantinople in 1846 in the context of a movement of religious renewal, Bible study and missionary contacts. Its later history is connected with communities of the Middle East, the diaspora and Armenia. Islam and the diversity of identities. The history of Hemshin communities includes Islamization, Armenian-language dialects and various self-identifications. It is impossible to declare all Hemshin to be Muslims or to ascribe a single modern ethnic identity to all of them. The scholarly collection edited by H. Simonyan examines precisely this diversity. Religion today. The Apostolic Church occupies a special place in cultural memory, but among Armenians there are Catholics, Protestants, adherents of other views and secular people. The Constitution of Armenia enshrines freedom of religious organizations and their separation from the state. Belonging to the people does not in itself determine a person's faith.