The Armenian Church comprises four Hierarchical Sees: two Catholicosates and two Patriarchates. This rather strange situa­tion is due to historical circum­stances.

− The Catho­licosate of all Armenians or Holy See of St. Etchmiad­zin. The Catholi­co­sate, where the catholicos resides, is the spiritual and admi­nis­trative head­quar­ters of the Armenian Church. As Patriarch M. Or­man­ian, a noted historian of the Armenian Church rightly points out, the Catholicosate has never derived its designation from any fixed place of residence and, irrespective of its location, it has always been called the Catho­­licosate of all Armenians. However, for different reasons, the Catholicosate has been asso­ciated with a locality, although its juris­diction and authority have extended well beyond that loca­lity. After the emergence of two Catholicosates within the Armenian Church, because St. Etchmiadzin is the site of the original seat of the Catholicosate, the Catholicosate of all Armenians was also referred to as the Holy See of St. Etchmiad­zin, the Mother See, or the Catho­licosate of St. Etchmiadzin. Likewise, because of its long existence in Sis, Cilicia, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia is sometimes called the Armenian Catho­lico­sate of Cilicia, the Catholicosate of all Armenians of Cilicia, or the Catho­lico­sate of Sis.

St. Gregory the Illuminator, the first catholicos, and his early successors had their residence at St. Etchmiadzin. With the change of the centers of political life and under the pressure of political and security factors, the Catho­licosate has changed its seat a number of times in the course of history. However, under all circumstances, the Cathedral of St. Etchmiadzin, as the symbol of the formal conversion of Armenia to Christianity, preserved its profound spi­ritual sym­bo­lism and historical significance. Accord­ing to historians, before the accept­ance of Christianity as the state religion, the center of the Armenian Church was in Ardaz, Artaz (43-300). St. Gregory the Illuminator established the Catholico­sate in St. Etchmiadzin, in Vaghar­sha­bad (Va­łar­šapat), the capital of Armenia. After residing for almost two centuries in St. Etch­miad­zin (302-485), the Catholicosate moved to Tvin, Duin (485-927), then to Tso­ravank, Joravank‘ (927-930), Aghtamar, Ałt‘a­m­ar (931-949), Ar­gina, Arkina (949-992), Ani, Ani (992-1062), in Armenia; then Sebastia, Se­bastia (1051-1057), near Cilicia; and then it moved to Cilicia, where it was established in Tawplur, T‘awblur (1062-1072), Dzamntav, Camn­t‘aw (1072-1116), Shougr, Šułr (1105-1120), Dzovk, Covk‘ (1116-1147), Hromkla, Hr˙omkla (1147-1293) and, finally, in 1293, in Sis, the capital of the Ar­menian Kingdom of Cilicia.

After the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia collapsed in 1375, Cilicia became a battle­ground between Sel­juks, Mamlukes, Tartars, and other invading powers. The deterio­rating situa­tion and increasing Latin influence on the Armenian Church in Cilicia, on the one hand, and the relatively peaceful conditions in Armenia, on the other hand, as well as growing tension caused by the openness of the Cilician clergy and the conservatism of the clergy in Armenia, most likely led the clergy of Armenia to elect a new catholicos in 1441 at St. Etchmiadzin in Armenia in the person of Giragos I Virabetsi (1441-1443), while Catho­­licos Kri­kor IX Musabegiants (1439-1446) was residing in Sis in Cilicia.In 1441, therefore, two catholicoi emerged in the Ar­menian Church with equal rights and privi­leges and with their respective jurisdic­tions.

− The Catholi­cosate of the Great House of Cilicia or Holy See of Cilicia. As we have indi­cated, due to politico-security condi­tions, the Catholicosate, after changing its location in Armenia several times, was moved from Armenia to Cilicia in the middle of the 11th Century. The motives for electing a new catholicos in St. Etchmiadzin, Armenia, in 1441, while the legitimate suc­cessor of St. Gregory the Illuminator was residing in Sis, Cilicia, as referred to above, are not clear. The sources of the period present a blurred picture of the internal conditions that led the clergy of Armenia to elect another catho­licos. Historians and scholars have suggested a number of pos­sibilities: The clergy in Ar­menia invited Catholicos Krikor IX Musa­begiants to transfer his seat to St. Etch­miadzin, but he expressed reser­vations be­cause of the strong Armenian presence in Cilicia; he did not go because of his advanced age; the clergy in Armenia elected a new catholicos in St. Etchmiadzin without con­sulting Catholicos Krikor IX Musabeg­iants; in view of the geopolitical divisions of the nation, the clergy in Cilicia and Armenia, with the consent of Catholicos Musabegiants, agreed to have the Church governed by two catholicoi. The absence of concrete facts, clear evi­dence, and well-substantiated reasons and arguments has led to subjective and biased interpretations. The clergy in Armenia de­veloped the notion of ‘return’ of the Catholi­cosate to Armenia; an approach which was strongly contested by the clergy in Cilicia. In any case, after the elec­tion of Giragos I Virabetsi in Ar­menia, he and Catholicos Krikor IX Musabegiants exchanged broth­erly greetings and the indivisible one­ness of the Armenian Church was firmly maintained. This strong com­mitment to the oneness of the Church survived the difficult geopolitical conditions during the ensuing centuries. The Catho­licosate in Cilicia kept its seat in Sis until 1921. Because of the tragic situation created by the Armenian Genocide in 1915 and the forced exodus of the Ar­menian clergy from the Catholicosate in Sis and the Armenian people from Cilicia and western Armenia, after a period of uncer­tainty, the seat of the Catholicosate was established in Antelias, a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, in 1930.

− The Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Ar­menian presence in Jerusalem goes back to the 4th Century when Armenians made pilgrimages to the Holy Lands and Ar­menian monks settled there. In 638 Ar­menians established their own Archbishop to take charge of the Armenian monasteries and churches in the Holy Lands. Archbishop Abraham was recognized by the caliph and served until 669. In 1311 the Ar­menian Archbishop of Jeru­salem, Sarkis, was given the title of patriarch by the Sultan of Egypt. In 1853, the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Majid granted the status of custodian of churches and sacred sites to the Ar­menian, Greek, and Latin Patriarchates.

The Arab-Israeli wars and migration of Ar­menians from the Holy Lands, Jaffa, and Haifa caused enormous difficulties for the Patriarchate, which is located in the Ar­menian Quarter of the Old City of Jeru­sa­lem. In spite of these difficulties, the Patriarchate con­tinues to maintain its rights and pri­vileges re­garding the church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Chapel of the Ascension, the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, and the Church of the Nati­vity in Bethlehem. The Patriarchate also pos­sesses ancient churches, monasteries, and religious sites in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, and Ram­leh. The custodian churches perform services in the Holy Places at appointed times fol­low­ing well-estab­lished traditions. The Patriarchate has jurisdiction over the Ar­menian commu­nities in Holy Lands, and Jordan. The Ar­menian patri­arch’s throne is estab­lished on the site where, it is be­lieved, the house of St. James the Just, the first bishop of Jerusalem, stood. Hence, the Ar­menian Patriar­chate is also referred to as St. James Monastery and the Apostolic See of the Ar­menians in Jeru­salem. The present Patriarch, Nourhan Manougian is the 97th Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem.

– The Patriarchate of Constantinople. This Hierarchical See of the Armenian Church was es­tab­lished in 1461 by Sultan Mehmet II after Constantinople fell to the Turks. The first patriarch was Hovagim I. The Armenian patriarchs exercised their ministry under complex conditions because they were subject to the state’s constant inter­vention into their internal affairs. Some of the patriarchs were deposed and exiled for denouncing the hardships imposed by the state authorities on Armenians. The Patriar­chate became the national center of Ar­menian life, particularly after the creation of the Na­tional Constitution. Following the Ar­­menian Geno­cide, the Patriarchate lost much of its ancient vitality; its se­minary was closed, church properties were con­fiscated, and heavy restrictions were imposed on church and community-related institu­tions and ac­tivities. In spite of this difficult history, the Patriarchate continues its pas­toral mission towards the Armenians in Turkey. The present Patriarch, Mesrob Mutafian is the 84th Ar­menian patriarch of Constantinople.

The Catholicosates and Patriarchates of the Armenian Church are not merely admi­nistrative centers. Within these centers a great deal of activity goes on. They contain the residence of the catho­licoi or patriarchs and their offices, churches, and chapels, as well as the residence of the monastic orders, lib­raries, museums, manuscripts, and archive centers, guest houses, printing houses, and de­partments related to Christian education, youth, women, social service, publication, and commu­nication. Among these depart­ments the theo­logical seminary occupies an impor­tant place. The Hierarchical Sees have their official monthly reviews: the Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin, Ējmiacin; the Holy See
of Cilicia, Hask; the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Sion; and the Patriarchate of Constan­tinople, Šoła­kat‘.

 

TWO CATHOLICOSATES WITHIN ONE CHURCH

The emergence of two major Catholico­sates with two catholicoi within one Church, living in different politico-religious environ­ments, serving under the most complex and critical conditions, and facing different chal­lenges and priorities, has, from time to time, generated some tension and controversies within the Armenian Church, affecting the life of our people. The relations between the two Catho­licosates grew quite tense during the period when Armenia was under Czarist Russia and Cilicia was under Ottoman rule; during the period when Armenia was part of the Soviet Union, much of the dias­pora was viru­lently anti-Soviet. Jurisdic­tional ques­tions have also deepened the disputes be­tween the two Catholicosates. In spite of these tensions, since 1441 the two Catho­li­cosates have faith­fully served the Ar­menian Church and people as inde­pendent church centers, recog­nizing each other’s authority and jurisdiction. The primacy of honor (primus inter pares) of the Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin has always been recognized by the Holy See of Cilicia. The two catholicoi are equal in rank and they possess the same ecclesial authority, respon­sibilities, rights, and pri­vileges within the Armenian Church.