Armenian Church

Armenia is the first country in the world to declare Christianity as its state religion in 301 A.D. The Armenian Apostolic Church is recognized as the national Church of the Armenian people, serving as a unifying force for centuries. When Armenians lacked a sovereign nation, the Church played a crucial role in preserving the Armenian language, culture, and identity.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the central religious authority for the Armenian Orthodox population in Armenia and for Armenian Orthodox communities worldwide.
It is headed by a Catholicos (the plural is Catholicoi). The Armenian Apostolic Church presently has two catholicoi (Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia), and two patriarchs, plus primates, archbishops and bishops, lower clergy and laity serving the Church.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin (Մայր Աթոռ Սուրբ Էջմիածին) is the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the worldwide Armenian Church, the center of the faith of the Armenian nation – the Mother Cathedral of the Armenian Church, and the Pontifical residence of Karekin II.

The Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia (Կաթողիկոսութիւն Հայոց Մեծի Տանն Կիլիկիոյ), located in Antelias, Lebanon, is an autonomous See of the Armenian Apostolic Church with jurisdiction over certain segments of the Armenian diaspora.