The Catholic Church in Armenia is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The 2011 census counted 13,843 Catholics in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, representing about 0.46% of the total population. Catholics in Armenia belong to two

particular church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with universals. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed to a ...

es, the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

or Western Rite (which includes the vast majority of Catholics worldwide) and the

Armenian Catholic Church , native_name_lang = hy , image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 260px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...

Territorial jurisdictions and dioceses

Catholics in Armenia are divided into two separate territorial jurisdictions.

Catholics are part of an

Apostolic Administration An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

, the

Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus The Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus ( la, Administratio Apostolica Caucasi Latinorum) is an apostolic administration (pre-diocesan jurisdiction) of the Latin Church in the Catholic Church, established in 1993, with headquarters in Tbilisi, ...

, and

Armenian Rite The Armenian Rite () is an independent liturgy used by both the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches. Liturgy The liturgy is patterned after the directives of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, first official head and patron sain ...

Catholics belonging to the

are part of an

ordinariate for the faithful of eastern rite An ordinariate for the faithful of Eastern rite is a geographical ecclesiastical structure for Eastern Catholic communities in areas where no eparchy of their own particular Church has been established. This structure was introduced by the apostol ...

, the

Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Eastern Europe The Armenian Catholic Ordinariate of Eastern Europe is an Ordinariate (quasi-diocese) of the Armenian Catholic Church (Eastern Catholic, Armenian Rite in Armenian language) for its faithful in certain Eastern European ex-Soviet countries without p ...

, which also includes Armenian Catholic Church members in Eastern Europe.

Within Armenia

The Catholics have always lived somewhat separate from the communities of

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

(an Oriental Orthodox Church that includes most Armenians as members), and intermarriage is not very common. Some Armenian Apostolic Church members refer to the Armenian Catholics as "

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

," because of the influence of French Catholic missionaries. The traditional home of Armenian Catholics is the

Shirak Province Shirak ( hy, Շիրակ, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north. Its capital and largest city is Gyumri, which is the second largest city ...

, specifically 7 villages including:

Arevik Arevik ( hy, Արևիկ; formerly, Agdzharkh and Aghja-Arkh) is a town in the Armavir province of Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia ...

, Panik, Lanjik, Azatan, Dzithankov, Mets Sepasar,

Ashotsk Ashotsk ( hy, Աշոցք, also Romanized as Ashoc’k’ and Ashotsq; formerly, Verin-Gukasyan, Gukasyan, Ghukasyan) is a village and rural community (municipality) in the Shirak Province of Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the R ...

. In the Lori Province, Catholics live in 6 localities:

Tashir Tashir ( hy, Տաշիր) is a town and urban municipal community located in Lori Province at the north of Armenia, near the border with Georgia. It is located 42 km north of the provincial centre Vanadzor and 154 north of the capital Ye ...

, Katnarat, Katnaghbyur, Petrovka, Saratovka, Blagodarnoye. In an interview,

Aid to the Church in Need In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

's project manager for Armenia, described the Catholic Community and the difficulties it faces. "In Armenia, the Catholic Church can be found almost exclusively in regions located in the northwestern parts of the country, in addition to a number of parishes behind the border in southwestern Georgia. These are poor and inhospitable regions situated at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres. The winters are harsh and can last up to six months. The unemployment rate is very high and the only option left for many of these people is seasonal or permanent migration to neighbouring countries." The few

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

left in Armenia along with some new immigrants who are Catholics (Latin Rite) live in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) 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 i ...

References

External links

The Holy See — The Vatican's Official Website
{{Asia topic, Christianity in

Territorial jurisdictions and dioceses

Within Armenia

See also

References

External links