The Spiritual Richness of the Armenian Rite

In the article The 6 Most Important Catholic Rites, we saw that the Catholic Church embraces a variety of liturgical traditions, each expressing the same faith in a unique way.. As the Catechism explains:

the Mystery celebrated in the liturgy is one, but the forms of its celebration are diverse (CATIC, 1200).

These traditions, called rites, emerged in different regions and cultures and have been recognized and safeguarded by the Holy See since the earliest centuries.

In addition to the Latin Rite—the most widespread in the West—the Church has five major families of Eastern rites: Alexandrian, Antiochian, Byzantine, Chaldean, and the Armenian Rite.

Each of these rites is celebrated in particular churches. Canon Law recognizes them as sui iuris. This means that they have their own organization, discipline, spirituality, and liturgy, while remaining in full communion with the Holy Father.

In this article we will focus on the Armenian Rite, an ancient tradition rooted in the evangelization efforts of St. Bartholomew and St. Jude Thaddeus. Today, it continues to keep alive the faith of Armenian Catholics around the world.

Origin and History of the Armenian Rite

The Evangelization of Armenia

Armenia is a biblical nation mentioned in the Old Testament as the “Kingdom of Urartu.” According to Genesis, Noah’s Ark ran aground on Mount Ararat, located on the border between Armenia and Turkey, after the Great Flood.

The apostles St. Bartholomew and St. Jude Thaddeus brought Christianity to the Armenian people. Saint Bartholomew is believed to have been martyred in Albanopolis. Accounts of his death vary: some say he was beheaded, while others claim he was flayed alive and then crucified upside down. Tradition holds that King Astyages ordered his execution after Bartholomew converted his brother, King Polymus.

In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to officially adopt Christianity as its state religion, decades before the Edict of Milan in 313, which ended the persecution of Christians and granted religious freedom.

Initially, the Armenian Church was under the Metropolitan Church of Caesarea of Cappadocia. By the early 5th century, it separated under its own patriarch who took the title of Catholicos. This title was given to the head of a Christian community outside the jurisdiction of the patriarchs. That title is currently preserved.

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Formation of the Armenian Rite

The Armenian Rite is the result of the fusion of several ancient liturgical traditions:

• Byzantine Rite: The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, brought from Caesarea in Cappadocia by Saint Gregory the Illuminator and originally celebrated in Greek.

• Syriac Rite: The Liturgy of St. James, introduced from Antioch and celebrated in Aramaic.

Both the Byzantine and Syriac rites were derived from early Christian liturgies and were still evolving when they were adopted in Armenia.

Later, the Armenian Rite incorporated elements from the Church of Jerusalem, such as the Missal lectionary, and adopted certain features of the Roman Rite, including Psalm 42 at the beginning of Mass and the prologue of the Gospel of John at the end—though these practices have fallen out of use both in Armenia and the West.

By the late 5th century, Patriarch John Mantaguni selected and unified the existing liturgies, giving the Armenian Rite its basic structure. In the 12th century, Saint Nerses Shnorhali added his own hymns and consolidated its definitive form.

Saint Gregory the Illuminator

Saint Gregory is the founder and patron saint of the Armenian Church, a central figure in the history of the nation. He is known as the second Illuminator of Armenia, as he continued the work of the apostles Jude Thaddeus and Bartholomew. His Greek name means “the ever-watchful” or “always prepared.”

Gregory belonged to the Arsacid royal dynasty. His father, Anak, assassinated King Chosrov I, bringing ruin to the family. To protect him, Gregory was raised and educated in Caesarea of Cappadocia by a Christian nobleman. At the age of 22, he married Mariam and had two children, Vartanes and Aristakes. After seven years of marriage, and following the teachings of Saint Paul, they both agreed to separate to dedicate themselves to a life of piety. Mariam retired to a convent, while Gregory returned to Armenia to evangelize.

Uponhis return, King Tiridates III, son of Chosrov I, imprisoned him. Suspecting Gregory as the son of his father’s murderer, he subjected him to a cruel captivity of fourteen years in a deep pit in the plain of Ararat, a place where the church of Khor Virap stands today. According to the chronicles, Gregory survived numerous tortures and death sentences thanks to a woman who brought him bread every day.

Meanwhile, King Tiridates fell into a deep depression that led him to a state of madness. LLegend says his sister had a vision revealing that only Gregory could heal the king. After being released, Gregory healed Tiridates through prayer and preached the Christian faith to him. In gratitude, the king was baptized and in the year 301 Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as the state religion.

With evangelization successful, Christianity flourished in Armenia. The king, princes, and people united under Gregory’s guidance, leading to the establishment of numerous monasteries, churches, and schools. In 302, Gregory was consecrated as Patriarch of Armenia and, in 318, he appointed his son Aristaces as his successor.

Around the year 331, Gregory retired to a cave on Mount Sebuh to live as a hermit, where he died a few years later.

Today, Saint Gregory is venerated by the Roman Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the Orthodox Churches.

Characteristics of the Armenian Liturgy

The current Armenian Rite was defined by St. Gregory the Illuminator, who modified and adapted the Byzantine Liturgy of St. Basil.

Liturgical Language

• It is celebrated exclusively in Classical Armenian (Grabar).
• The vernacular language is not used during the liturgy.

Structure of the Mass (its name in Armenian is Surp Badarak)

• Prayers and preparation of the gifts.
• Mass of the Catechumens (Liturgy of the Word).
• Mass of the Faithful (Eucharistic Liturgy).

Distinctive Elements

• Curtains are used at the altar instead of an iconostasis. During Great Lent, the liturgy is celebrated with the curtain closed.
• Unleavened bread, either in thin wafers or small loaves, is used. It is large and features an image of the Crucifixion.
• Wine is used undiluted for consecration.
  
• Communion is distributed under both species using intinction (the bread is dipped into the chalice).
  
• The celebrant and the faithful face East during the liturgy.

Symbols and Gestures

• Sign of the cross: three fingers together (representing the Trinity) and two folded (representing the two natures of Christ).
• Incense is used constantly, symbolizing worship and purification.
• Solemn procession with the Gospel, which the faithful may kiss.
• The sign of peace is conveyed from the altar to the assembly.
• No genuflection is performed; deep bowing is the gesture of reverence.
• To consecrate, the priests take off their shoes.

Liturgical Vestments

• The deacons wear an alb and stole; the priest wears a crown (Saghavard).
• The bishops wear a miter of similar style to the Latin tradition.
• The vestments are hand-embroidered.
• There are no fixed liturgical colors.

Music

• Originally, only vocal singing and two metal instruments.
• The organ was introduced in 1923.

Forms of Celebration

• Sung Mass: in Armenian, with a homily in the vernacular language.
• Solemn Mass: full version celebrated on major feast days (Theophany, Easter, Transfiguration, Assumption, and Exaltation of the Cross)
• Spoken Mass: in the vernacular, brief, without a homily, and dialogued.

The Armenian Rite is used exclusively by the Armenian Church.

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The Armenian Catholic Church

After the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451, the Armenian Church broke communion with Rome. While the Roman Catholic Church affirmed that Christ has two natures, divine and human, the Armenian Church adopted the monophysite position, according to which the human nature was absorbed by the divine. This decision was confirmed in the national councils of 506 and 551, and since then this community has been known as the Armenian Apostolic Church or pre-Chalcedonian Chruch. This church, which separated from Rome, is distinct from later Orthodox Churches, which accept both the human and divine natures of Christ.

Over the centuries, there were moments of rapprochement. In the 11th century, the Catholicos Gregory II traveled to Rome to venerate the relics of St. Peter and St. Paul, and several of his successors recognized the Pope as the successor of Peter. Later, the Franciscans and Dominicans carried out an important missionary task in Armenia and among the Armenians of the diaspora. Finally, in 1740, a synod of Armenian bishops gathered in Rome elected the first Catholic Patriarch of the Armenian Rite. Two years later, the patriarchal see was established in Bzommar, in Lebanon, where it remains to this day.

The Armenian Catholic Church maintains the rite and traditions of Armenia while remaining in full communion with Rome. The jurisdiction of the Catholicos extends over Armenian Catholics both in the East and in the diaspora.

Currently, the Catholicos resides in Beirut and, in addition to the local diocese, there are three archdioceses (Aleppo, Baghdad, and Istanbul), three dioceses (Alexandria, Eṣfahān, and Kamishlia), an apostolic exarchate in Paris, and two ordinariates in Athens and Gherla (Romania). The Armenian Catholic presence is also very strong in countries such as France, Italy, the United States, and Argentina.

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The history of the Armenian Rite is that of a people who have kept their faith alive throughout the centuries, despite adversities. Since the evangelization of the apostles Bartholomew and Jude Thaddeus, the Armenians clung to their Christian identity, becoming the first nation to embrace Christianity as the official religion.

Their faith was brutally tested at the beginning of the 20th century, during the Armenian Genocide. In a dark period, the Ottoman Empire sought the systematic annihilation of the Armenian people, who were predominantly Christian. Despite the terrible persecution, massacre, and forced displacement, the Armenians refused to renounce their faith. Despite efforts to erase their identity, faith was passed down from generation to generation, even in exile.

Today, the survival of the Armenian Rite in various parts of the world, from Lebanon to Argentina, is a testament to the incredible resilience and devotion of a community that, even after a genocide, remained faithful to its roots. It is proof of how faith and cultural identity can intertwine to form a legacy that withstands the passage of time and the greatest tragedies.

The history of Armenian Christians is a powerful reminder that faith can be the most powerful force for the survival of a people.