IOverview
Armenia was one of the first countries to adopt Christianity as its state religion, traditionally in 301. Most Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Armenian Catholic Church is a smaller body that keeps the same rite but is in communion with the Bishop of Rome.
Its head is styled Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics and is seated in Beirut, Lebanon. By tradition each patriarch adds the name Bedros, Armenian for Peter, on taking office, as a sign of communion with Rome. The liturgy uses Classical Armenian, known as Grabar, written in the Armenian alphabet.
IIHistory
From the time of the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia, in what is now southeastern Turkey, Armenians had much contact with the West through the Crusades, and several short-lived unions with Rome were made. In the 17th and 18th centuries Latin missionaries formed Armenian Catholic communities in Constantinople, Aleppo and other Ottoman cities. In 1742 Rome established a patriarchate of their own.
- 301Armenia adopts ChristianityThe shared starting point of every Armenian Christian tradition.
- 1198 and 1439Early unionsThe kingdom of Cilicia enters union with Rome in the Crusader era. The Council of Florence renews the union in 1439. Neither lasts.
- 1717The Mekhitarists in VeniceThe monastic order founded by Mekhitar of Sebaste settles on the island of San Lazzaro, which becomes a leading centre of Armenian learning in Europe.
- 1742The patriarchateRome confirms Abraham Petros I Ardzivian as patriarch. The monastery of Bzommar in Lebanon is founded in 1749.
- 1830 and 1831Ottoman recognitionArmenian Catholics are recognised by the Ottoman Empire as a separate community.
- 1915Catastrophe and dispersalThe massacres and deportations of Armenians, which many states and scholars call a genocide, scatter the community to Lebanon, Syria and beyond.
- 1991 and 2021Armenia and a new patriarchIn 1991 an ordinariate for Eastern Europe is set up in Gyumri, Armenia. In 2021 Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian is elected patriarch.
IIITeachings and Distinctives
In doctrine the church believes what the whole Catholic Church believes, including the definitions of the Council of Chalcedon of 451, which the Armenian Apostolic Church does not accept. That is the main point of difference between two churches of the same people. In worship the two share almost everything: the Armenian Divine Liturgy, the sharakan hymns and a distinctive calendar in which Christmas and Theophany are kept together on 6 January.
A common misunderstanding holds that Armenian Catholics are Armenians who have abandoned their national tradition. In fact they keep the Armenian language, alphabet, hymns and most of the Armenian liturgy. The difference lies in church communion and some points of doctrine, not in national identity.
IVPractice, Liturgy and Life
The Armenian Divine Liturgy uses unleavened bread and unmixed wine, unlike most Eastern rites. Diocesan priests may be married, while bishops are chosen from the celibate clergy. The Mekhitarist monks of Venice and Vienna have done much, from the 18th century to the present, to print, translate and preserve Armenian literature, serving all Armenians regardless of church.
An easily recognised feature of the Armenian rite is the large curtain before the sanctuary. It is drawn at certain moments of the liturgy and kept closed throughout Lent, as a kind of fast for the whole congregation. The hymns are sung in a distinctively Armenian style, many of them dating from the Middle Ages.
The best known saint is Saint Ignatius Maloyan, Archbishop of Mardin, killed in 1915, beatified in 2001 and canonised by Pope Leo XIV on 19 October 2025.
VOrganisation and Distribution
The synod elects the patriarch, who then asks the Pope for ecclesial communion. According to the Annuario Pontificio 2023 the church has 753,945 members. Wikipedia, citing 2017 data, shows most of them belonging to the Ordinariate for Eastern Europe based in Gyumri, which covers Armenia, Georgia and neighbouring countries. There are also eparchies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Turkey, eparchies or exarchates in France, Argentina, the United States and Canada, and small communities in many other countries.
VIIn Vietnam
There is no significant Armenian Catholic community in Vietnam, and no source was found for a parish or priest of this church here. Under Eastern canon law, faithful living where their own church has no eparchy come under the local bishop, so any Armenian Catholics in Vietnam would usually attend Mass in a Latin parish.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIIOther Branches of Catholicism
Latin ChurchEcclesia LatinaThe largest of the 24 churches that make up the Catholic Church, headed directly by the Bishop of Rome.
Syro-Malabar Catholic ChurchSyro-Malabar SabhaThe largest Eastern Catholic Church, rooted in the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India.
Ukrainian Greek Catholic ChurchУкраїнська греко-католицька церкваThe largest Byzantine-rite Eastern Catholic Church.
Maronite Churchالكنيسة المارونيةA West Syriac rite church named after the hermit Saint Maron.Melkite Greek Catholic Churchكنيسة الروم الملكيين الكاثوليكA Byzantine-rite church worshipping in Arabic and Greek, rooted in the See of Antioch.Uses the common symbol of the pathArmenian Catholic ChurchՀայ Կաթողիկե ԵկեղեցիAn Armenian-rite church in communion with Rome, led by the Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia seated in Beirut.Uses the common symbol of the pathChaldean Catholic Churchܥܕܬܐ ܟܠܕܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐAn East Syriac rite church worshipping in Syriac and Arabic, led by the Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon seated in Baghdad.Uses the common symbol of the path
Syro-Malankara Catholic ChurchMalankara Suriyani Katholika SabhaA church of the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala using the West Syriac rite, in communion with Rome since 1930.IXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
How does the Armenian Catholic Church differ from the Armenian Apostolic Church?
They share rite, language and most traditions. The Armenian Catholic Church is in communion with Rome and accepts the Council of Chalcedon, while the Armenian Apostolic Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family, headed by the Catholicos at Etchmiadzin.
Why do Armenian Catholic patriarchs all bear the name Bedros?
Bedros is the Armenian form of Peter. Each patriarch adds it on taking office to express communion with the See of Peter in Rome.
Where is the patriarchate?
In Beirut, Lebanon. The monastery of Bzommar on Mount Lebanon, founded in 1749, has long been closely tied to the patriarchate.