The 2011 census counted 13,843

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

, representing about 0.46% of the total population. Catholics in Armenia belong to two

particular church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with ''universals''. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed ...

es, the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

(which includes the vast majority of Catholics worldwide) and the

Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

Territorial jurisdictions and dioceses

Catholics in Armenia are divided into two separate territorial jurisdictions. Latin Rite Catholics are part of an Apostolic Administration, the

Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus The Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus () is an apostolic administration (pre-diocesan jurisdiction) of the Latin Church in the Catholic Church, established in 1993, with headquarters in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. It is exempt, i.e. dir ...

, and Armenian Rite Catholics belonging to the

are part of an ordinariate for the faithful of eastern rite, the Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Eastern Europe, which also includes Armenian Catholic Church members in Eastern Europe.

Within Armenia

The

have always lived somewhat separate from the communities of

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 ...

(an

Oriental Orthodox Church The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is ...

that includes most Armenians as members), and intermarriage is not very common. Some Armenian Apostolic Church members refer to the Armenian Catholics as "

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

," because of the influence of French Catholic

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

. The traditional home of Armenian Catholics is the

Shirak Province Shirak (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province () of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering the provinces of Lori Province, Lori to the east and Aragatsotn Province, Aragatsotn to the south and southeast, and the cou ...

, specifically 7 villages including: Arevik, Panik, Lanjik, Azatan, Dzithankov, Mets Sepasar, Ashotsk. In the

Lori Province Lori (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia (country), Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. ...

, Catholics live in 6 localities: Tashir, Katnarat, Katnaghbyur, Petrovka, Saratovka, Blagodarnoye. In an interview, Aid to the Church in Need's project manager for Armenia, described the Catholic Community and the difficulties it faces. "In Armenia, the Catholic Church can be found almost exclusively in regions located in the northwestern parts of the country, in addition to a number of parishes behind the border in southwestern Georgia. These are poor and inhospitable regions situated at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres. The winters are harsh and can last up to six months. The unemployment rate is very high and the only option left for many of these people is seasonal or permanent migration to neighbouring countries." The few

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

left in Armenia along with some new immigrants who are Catholics (Latin Rite) live in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

References

External links

The Holy See — The Vatican's Official Website
{{Asia topic, Christianity in

Territorial jurisdictions and dioceses

Within Armenia

See also

References

External links