The Catholicos of All Armenians () is the chief

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and spiritual leader of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...

, the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

, and the worldwide

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

. The Armenian Catholicos (plural Catholicoi) is also known as the Armenian Pontiff (Վեհափառ, ''Vehapar'' or Վեհափառ Հայրապետ, ''Vehapar Hayrapet'') and by other titles. According to tradition, the apostles

Saint Thaddeus Jude the Apostle (Ancient Greek: Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou Syriac/Aramaic: ܝܗܘܕܐ translit. Yahwada) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Tha ...

and

Saint Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

brought

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

to Armenia in the first century. Saint Gregory the Illuminator became the first Catholicos of All Armenians following the nation's adoption of Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD. The seat of the Catholicos, and the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the Armenian Church, is the

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin (), known in Armenian as simply the Mother See (Մայր Աթոռ, ''Mayr At’oř''), is the governing body of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is headquartered around Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Vagharshapat (Etc ...

, located in the city of

Vagharshapat Vagharshapat ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Armenia, 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border ...

. The Armenian Apostolic Church is part of the

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysitism, Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian ...

communion. This communion includes the

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...

, the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

, the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

, the

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in #Catholicate ...

, and the

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. It was given autocephaly by Shenouda III of Alexandria, pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, after Eritrea gained its in ...

. The incumbent Catholicos of the Armenian Church is

Karekin II Catholicos Garegin II (, also spelled Karekin; born 21 August 1951) is the Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, since 1999. In 2013 he was unanimously elected the Oriental Orthodox head of the World Cou ...

since 1999.

Other names

The Catholicos is often referred to both by the church and the media as the Armenian Pontiff. Historically, the Catholicos was known in English and other languages as the Armenian Patriarch or the Patriarch of Armenia, and sometimes as the Patriarch of Etchmiadzin (or Echmiadzin) to distinguish from the

Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem. To distinguish from the Catholicos (or Patriarch) of Cilicia, historically based in

Sis Sis or SIS may refer to: People *Michael Sis (born 1960), American Catholic bishop Places * Sis (ancient city), historical town in modern-day Turkey, served as the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. * Kozan, Adana, the current name ...

and now in

Antelias Antelias () is a city in Lebanon in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located around 5 km to the north of Beirut. Etymology The name is originally Greek, ἀντήλιος – from ἀντί(anti) "contra" and ἥλ� ...

(

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

), he may be referred to as the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin. To underscore his supremacy over other patriarchs, the Catholicos is sometimes referred to in English as the Armenian Pope. * *

References

External links

Official site of The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
* {{Armenia-reli-bio-stub

Other names

See also

References

External links