Armenian Rite

Liturgy according to the Armenian Rite in Tatev monastery

The Armenian Rite is a liturgical rite used by both the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church. Isaac of Armenia, the Catholicos of All Armenians, initiated a series of reforms with help from Mesrop Mashtots in the 5th century that distinguished Armenia from its Greek and Syriac. These reforms included a retranslation of the Bible and a revised liturgy. During the Crusades and afterwards, missionary activity by the Latin Church influenced liturgical norms and induced some Armenians to join the Catholic Church. The modern Armenian Rite features elements and interpolations from the Byzantine Rite and Latin liturgical rites, with the celebration of the Eucharist emulating the Liturgy of Saint Basil.

History

Christianity in Armenia is first attested to by Tertullian during the 2nd century AD. An apocryphal claim within an ancient Greek source claims that the apostles Jude and Bartholomew introduced Christianity to Armenian in the 1st century AD. Later, Gregory the Illuminator launched a program of evangelization in Armenia that included the conversion of the king,Tiridates III. Gregory subordinated Armenian Christianity under the see of Caesarea in the early 4th century.

Liturgy

The liturgy is patterned after the directives of Gregory the Illuminator, first official head and patron saint of the Armenian Church. Churches of the Armenian Rite have a curtain concealing the priest and the altar from the people during parts of the liturgy, an influence from early apostolic times.

The order of the Armenian celebration of the Divine Liturgy of the Eucharist is initially influenced by the Syriac and Cappadocian Christians, then (from the 5th century AD onwards) by Jerusalemites, then by the Byzantine Rite (from circa the 10th century) and later by the Latin liturgical rites. The Armenians are the only liturgical tradition using wine without added water. The Armenian Rite uses the unleavened bread for the Eucharist, part of their historic tradition.

From all the Armenian language anaphoras the only one currently in use is the anaphora of Athanasius of Alexandria. It became the standard anaphora of the Armenian Church before the end of the 10th century and is a translation of the Greek version. In research it is often attributed to Gregory of Nazianzus, or to an older version of the Armenian anaphora of St. Basil or seen as a composite text.

See also

• Oriental Orthodox Churches
• Eastern Catholic Churches
• Georgian Byzantine-Rite Catholics

References

Sources

• Cross, F. L.; Livingstone, E. A., eds. (1997). "Armenia, Christianity in". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-19-211655-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• King, Archdale Arthur (1948). "The Armenian Rite". The Rites of Eastern Christendom. Vol. II. Catholic Book Agency. doi:10.31826/9781463217020 – via Gorgias Press, De Gruyter.

Bibliography

• The Armenian Liturgy, translated into English. San Lazzaro degli Armeni (Italy). 1867. pp. 95. Archived from the original on 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2018-11-22 – via archive.org.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)]