THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE ARMENIAN GREGORIAN CHURCH (5TH–8TH CENTURIES): AN ANALYSIS FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF STATE, NATION, AND CULTURAL FORMATION

Following the decisions made at the Council of Chalcedon (451), the Armenian Apostolic Church broke away from the mainstream Christian tradition and established an independent religious structure. Before the process of Christianization, the Armenians were a community adhering to pagan beliefs. This situation led to the Church being influenced by pagan culture after the Armenians adopted Christianity. Under the leadership of Saint Gregory, Christianity became the official religion of the Armenian state in 314, and a central place of worship was constructed in Etchmiadzin. Mesrop Mashtots’ invention of the Armenian alphabet, consisting of thirty-six letters, and his translation of sacred texts into Armenian helped solidify the cultural and religious identity. While the Armenian Church accepted the decisions made at the first three of the seven ecumenical councils, it rejected those made at the other four. At the same time, their repeated rejection of the decisions made at the First Dvin (506) and Second Dvin (554) Councils—and especially those of the 451 Council of Chalcedon—not only demonstrated their loyalty to the 381 Council of Ephesus but also secured their institutional independence. The Councils of Karin, Manazkert, and Partav, held in the 7th and 8th centuries, defined the Church’s internal discipline and theological boundaries; the autonomy achieved under Islamic rule, meanwhile, enabled the Armenian Church to attain its national and religious identity.