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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Soviet Union
Index
The Armenian Apostolic religion is an independent Eastern
Christian faith. It follows Orthodox Christian beliefs but differs
from most other Christian religions in its refusal to accept the
doctrine of Christ's two natures--divine and human--promulgated by
the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
Armenians were converted to Christianity in the third century
and became the first people in the world to adopt Christianity as
a state religion. Despite seizing its property and subsequently
persecuting and harassing its clergy and faithful, the Soviet
government has allowed the Armenian Apostolic Church to continue as
the national church of the Armenian Republic.
In the 1980s, the Armenian Apostolic Church had about 4 million
faithful, or almost the entire Armenian population of the country.
The church was permitted 6 bishops, between 50 and 100 priests, and
between 20 and 30 churches, and it had one theological seminary and
six monasteries.
Data as of May 1989
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