ABOUT THE CHURCH: WHAT IS THE ARMENIAN CHURCH?
Belleville News-Democrat, IL
Nov 12 2006
The Church of Armenia acknowledges as its original founders two of
the 12 apostles of Christ, Thaddeus and Bartholomew. Armenia was the
first nation to adopt the Christian faith as its national religion in
301 A.D., 21 years before the Holy Roman Empire. The spiritual center
of the Armenian Church is Etchmiadzin near the capitol of Armenia,
Erevan, and is the seat of the head of the church, the Catholicos.
The Armenian Church does not answer to the Pope of the Roman Catholic
Church.
Since their conversion in the fourth century, Armenians have clung
to their faith and maintained a passionate devotion to Christianity
despite being conquered by many nations of many faiths including
Persians (modern Iran), Romans, the Ottoman empire, Turks and others.
All of these conquerors tried to drive Christianity from this small
nation and impose their respective religions. All of them failed
and the Armenians have held onto their Christian faith for more than
1,700 years.
Armenian Churches exist on six continents around the world.
Where is Armenia? The modern state of Armenia is a former Soviet
Republic located to the east of Turkey, south of Georgia and west of
Azerbaijan. Historic Armenia includes Mount Ararat, the spot where
the Bible says Noah’s Ark landed after the Great Flood of the Old
Testament.
How long have Armenians lived in the metro-east?The first Armenians
may have arrived in the Metro East in the 1890s. Their numbers grew
in the early 1900s, many of them immigrating after they escaped the
Armenian genocide by the Turks from 1915-1923. Nearly 1.5 million
Armenians died during these year, which have been described as the
"holocaust of World War I."
The Armenian community in this region has grown throughout the years
as the original immigrants married and had families and other Armenian
immigrants came here from Russia, Lebanon, and most recently from Baku,
Azerbaijan. Several hundred Armenian families live in the St. Louis
area. They include physicians, lawyers, educators, professionals and
elected officials among others.
When was the Armenian metro-east church founded? The church was
originally founded in 1956 in East St. Louis. The present building in
Swancea was dedicated in November 1978. Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat
Church is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
What does Shoghagat mean? The word "Shoghagat," the original name of
the church, literally means "dripping of beams from heaven." This name
was chosen in 1956 by the Godfather of the church, Levon Bagdasaroff.
Source: Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Church
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