The majority of Armenians The Armenians are a nation and ethnic group which originated in the Caucasus and the Armenian Highland. It is estimated that there are from 8 to 11 million Armenians around the world. There is a large concentration of Armenians in the Caucasus, especially in Armenia, and there is a significant presence in Georgia, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine. As a follow Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity comprises three major branches: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy (which parted ways with Catholicism in 1054 A.D.) and Protestantism (which came into existence during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th, which has existed in Armenia Armenia /ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան, transliterated : Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the for over 1,700 years. Armenia has its own church, the Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church. The Armenian Apostolic Church traces its origins to the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1, which most Armenians follow. Christianity has a strong influence in the country, but there is a small presence of other religions too.

Christianity

Armenian Apostolics (Orthodox)

The dominant religion in Armenia is Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity comprises three major branches: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy (which parted ways with Catholicism in 1054 A.D.) and Protestantism (which came into existence during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th, with 94.7% of the population following the Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church. The Armenian Apostolic Church traces its origins to the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1.^[1]

Christianity was first introduced by the apostles In Christianity, the Apostles were missionaries among the leaders in the Early Church and, in the Epistle to the Hebrews,[3:1] Jesus Christ himself. The term was also used, especially by the Gospel of Luke, for "the Twelve," Jesus' inner circle of disciples (students). They were, according to the Acts of the Apostles and Christian Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and is usually identified with Nathanael, mentioned only in the Gospel of John. Bartholomew comes from the Aramaic bar-Tôlmay (תולמי‎‎‎‎‎-בר‎‎), meaning son of Tolmay (Ptolemy) or son of the furrows (perhaps a ploughman). Based on this meaning, many have assumed it was not and Thaddeus Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus, and is also variously called Jude of James, Jude Thaddaeus, Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus. He is sometimes identified with Jude, "brother" of Jesus, but is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another disciple and later the betrayer of Jesus in the first century AD. Armenia became the first country to establish Christianity as its state religion Religion (from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods," "obligation, the bond between man and the gods" is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or more in general a set of beliefs explaining the existence of and giving meaning to the universe, when, in an event traditionally dated to 301 A.D, St. Gregory the Illuminator Saint Gregory the Illuminator or Saint Gregory the Enlightener , the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church (c. 257 – c. 331) was a religious leader credited with forging the Christian identity of Armenia via conversion from pagan beliefs. Armenia became the first country to establish itself as a Christian nation, an event traditionally convinced Tiridates III, the king A Monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which a country or entity is usually ruled or controlled by an individual who normally rules for life or until abdication. Monarchs may be autocrats or may be ceremonial heads of state who exercise little or no power or only reserve power, with actual authority vested in a of Armenia, to convert The Convert or Try, in American and Canadian football, is a one-scrimmage down played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking, or two points by touchdown. The play may also be referred to as a conversion, extra point, point after touchdown , or point after to Christianity. Before this, the dominant religion was Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster . It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BC in Iran. The term Zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism (the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority) and to a smaller degree paganism Paganism is a blanket term used to refer to various polytheistic, non-Abrahamic religious traditions. Its exact definition may vary. It is primarily used in a historical context, referring to Greco-Roman polytheism as well as the polytheistic traditions of Europe before Christianization. In a wider sense, extended to contemporary religions, it.

Armenian Catholics

Smaller groups belong to the Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui juris in full union with the Roman Catholic Church. It is in full communion with and accepts the authority of the Pope in Rome as regulated by Eastern canon law. Since 1749, Armenian Catholic Church is headquartered at the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate complex in Bzoummar, Lebanon (an Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous, self-governing particular Churches in full communion with the Bishop of Rome—the pope. They preserve the centuries-old liturgical, devotional, and theological traditions of the various Eastern Christian Churches with which they are associated historically. While doctrinal differences divide these church in full communion with Rome).

Armenian Evangelicals

There are also small communities of Protestant Protestantism is one of the four major divisions within Christianity together with the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Roman Catholic Church. The term is most closely tied to those groups that separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation Armenians of various denominations, as missionaries A missionary is, by definition, “one who attempts to persuade others to a particular program, doctrine, or set of principles; a propagandist.” In a narrower and more popular usage it is one “who is sent on a mission” to do "charitable and religious work in a territory or foreign country." Thomas Hale, through his service as a converted a number of Armenians.

Other denominations and sects

The Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism; they report convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual Memorial attendance of over 18 million. They are have a presence as well. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a restorationist Christian church, and the largest denomination originating from the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. Founded in Upstate New York in 1830, the church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations (called wards or branches) claims over 2,000 adherents in Armenia at the end of 2005 (lds.org website).

Judaism

Jews The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation. Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos have a historic presence in Armenia. During the Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR, Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik IPA: [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪəlʲɪˈstʲiʨɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpʊblʲɪk] , abbreviated СССР, SSSR), informally known as the Soviet Union ( years, Armenia was considered to be one of the most tolerant republics for Jews in the Soviet Union. Currently there are an estimated 750 Jews in the country, a remnant of a once larger community. Most left Armenia for Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the after the collapse of the Soviet Union because of inadequate services. Still, despite the small numbers, a high intermarriage rate and relative isolation, a lot of enthusiasm exists to help the community meet its needs. ^[2]

Islam

Azeris The Azerbaijanis are an ethnic group mainly living in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Commonly referred to as Azeris/Āzarīs or Azerbaijani Turks (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan türkləri), they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to the Iranian plateau. The Azeris are predominantly Shia Muslim and Turkic nation and Kurds The Kurds are an Ethnic-Iranian ethnolinguistic group mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Substantial Kurdish communities also exist in the cities of western Turkey, and they can also be found in Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Azerbaijan, Russia, Lebanon and, in recent decades, living in Armenia traditionally practiced Islam Islam (Arabic: الإسلام‎ al-’islām, pronounced [ʔislæːm] [note 1]) is the monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur’an, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of their one, incomparable God (Arabic: الله‎, Allāh), and by the Prophet of Islam Muhammad's teachings and normative example (in Arabic called, but most Azeris have fled the country due to the Nagorno-Karabakh War The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. As the war progressed, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former. Approximately 1,000 Muslims live in Yerevan Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. It has been the capital since 1918, the thirteenth in the history of Armenia, and one 18th century Mosque remains open for Friday prayers.Islam in Armenia consists mostly of Azeris and Muslim Kurds. In 2009, the Pew Research Center estimated that less than 0.1% of the population, or about 1,000 people, were Muslims.[1]

Armenians did not convert to Islam in large numbers. During the Arabic conquest, Islam came to the Armenians however, almost all Armenians never converted to Islam, since Christians were not required to convert by Muslim law. The story was similar in the Ottoman Empire.

During 1988-1991 the overwhelming majority of Muslim population consisting of Azeris and Muslim Kurds fled the country as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh War and the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. There is also a significant community of Yazidi Kurds (50-70,000 people), who were not affected by this conflict. Since the early 1990s, Armenia has also attracted diverse esoteric and sectarian groups. [2]

Yazidism

About 2% of Armenia's population, mostly ethnic Kurds The Kurds are an Ethnic-Iranian ethnolinguistic group mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Substantial Kurdish communities also exist in the cities of western Turkey, and they can also be found in Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Azerbaijan, Russia, Lebanon and, in recent decades, living in the western part of the country, follow the ancient Yazidi The Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-European roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s - their members emigrating to Europe, especially to Germany. Their religion, religion. Many Yazidis came to Armenia and Georgia Georgia (Georgian: საქართველო, IPA: [sɑkʰɑrtʰvɛlɔ] ; English pronunciation: /ˈdʒɔrdʒə/ ( listen)) is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to escape religious persecution.

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith in Armenia begins with some involvements in the banishments and execution of the Báb Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází (October 20, 1819 – July 9, 1850) was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four (on May 23, 1844) claimed to be the promised Qá'im (or Mahdi). After his declaration he took the title of Báb (Arabic: ب�,<sup>[3]</sup> the Founder of the Bábí Faith, viewed by Bahá'ís as a precursor religion. The same year of the execution of the Báb the religion was introduced into Armenia.<sup>[4]</sup> During the period of Soviet policy of religious oppression The Soviet Union was an atheist state from 1928-1939, in which religion was largely discouraged and heavily persecuted, and a secular state in 1945 until its dissolution. According to various Soviet and Western sources, over one-third of the country's people professed religious belief. Christianity and Islam had the most believers. Christians, the Bahá'ís in Armenia lost contact with the Bahá'ís elsewhere.<sup>[5]</sup> However in 1963 communities were identified<sup>[6]</sup> in Yerevan Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. It has been the capital since 1918, the thirteenth in the history of Armenia and Artez.<sup>[7]</sup> Following Perestroika Perestroika (Russian: Перестройка) was a political movement within the Communist Party of Soviet Union widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Its literal meaning is "restructuring", referring to the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies Spiritual Assembly is a term given by `Abdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Bahá'í Faith. Because the Bahá'í Faith has no clergy, they carried out some of the responsibilities of clergy, as well as some responsibilities that an elected Board of Deacons or Parish Council of a Christian church might perform. In addition to of Armenia form in 1991^[8] and Armenian Bahá'ís elected their first National Spiritual Assembly in 1995.^[7] As of 2004 the Bahá'ís claim about 200 members in Armenia^[9] but as of 2001 Operation World estimated about 1,400.^[10]

Freedom of religion

The Constitution as amended in December 2005 provides for freedom of religion; however, the law places some restrictions on the religious freedom of adherents of minority religious groups, and there were some restrictions in practice. The Armenian (Apostolic) Church, which has formal legal status as the national church, enjoys some privileges not available to other religious groups.

Some religious denominations reported occasional discrimination by mid- or low-level government officials but found high-level officials to be tolerant. Jehovah's Witnesses reported that judges sentenced them to longer prison terms for evasion of alternative military service than in the past, although the sentences were still within the range allowed by law. Societal attitudes toward some minority religious groups were ambivalent, and there were reports of societal discrimination directed against members of these groups.

See also

• Islam in Armenia
• Judaism in Armenia
• Religion by country This article gives an overview about religion by country. Note that the Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, will show dual figures; those are the percentage of people who believe in God and the percentage of nominal adherents who celebrate traditional religious holidays although not professing belief in God: Cultural Jews and
• Roman Catholicism in Armenia

References

1. ^ CIA Factbook
2. ^ Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Eurasia: Armenia and Jews
3. ^ Quinn, Sholeh A. (2009). "Aqasi, Haji Mirza (‘Abbas Iravani)(c. 1783–1849)". in Morrison, Gayle. the Bahá’í Encyclopedia Project. Online. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. http://www.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45:aqasi-haji-mirza-abbas-iravani-&catid=37:biography&Itemid=75.
4. ^ Balci, Bayram; Jafarov, Azer (2007-02-21), "The Baha’is of the Caucasus: From Russian Tolerance to Soviet Repression {2/3}", Caucaz.com, http://www.caucaz.com/home_eng/breve_contenu.php?id=300
5. ^ Effendi, Shoghi Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, the leadership of the Bahá'í community entered a new phase, evolving from that of a single individual to an administrative order with executive and (1936-03-11). The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Haifa, Palestine: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1991 first pocket-size edition. pp. 64–67. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/WOB/wob-34.html#pg64.
6. ^ Monakhova, Elena (2000). "From Islam to Feminism via Baha'i Faith". Women Plus… 2000 (03). http://www.owl.ru/eng/womplus/2000/bachai.htm.
7. ^ ^{a b} Hassall, Graham. "Notes on Research on National Spiritual Assemblies". Research notes. Asia Pacific Bahá'í Studies. http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/Notes%20on%20Research/national_spiritual_assemblies.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
8. ^ Ahmadi, Dr. (2003). "Major events of the Century of Light". homepage for an online course on the book “Century of Light”. Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa. http://www.bci.org/bahaistudies/courses/light/time-line-bahai.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
9. ^ "Armenia International Religious Freedom Report 2004". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. 2005. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51538.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
10. ^ "Republic of Armenia, Hayastan". Operation World. Paternoster Lifestyle. 2001. http://www.operationworld.org/country/arme/overvw01.html#Religionl. Retrieved 2009-04-22.

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