18 January 2021

Eastern Rite - Armenian Catholic Church

 

Today occur the Feasts of Saint Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria and Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Archbishop of Alexandria.
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The Armenian Catholic Church (Armenian: Հայ Կաթողիկէ Եկեղեցիromanized: Hay Kat’ołikē Ekełec’i; Latin: Ecclesia armeno-catholica) is one of the Eastern particular churches sui iuris of the Catholic Church. They accept the leadership of the Bishop of Rome, and therefore are in full communion with the Catholic Church, including both the Latin Church and the 22 other Eastern Catholic Churches. The Armenian Catholic Church is regulated by Eastern canon law, namely the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

The head of the sui iuris Armenian Catholic Church is the Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia, whose main cathedral and de facto archiepiscopal see is the Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminator, in Beirut, Lebanon.

The church uses the Armenian Rite and the Armenian language in its liturgy. The Armenian Rite is also used by both the Armenian Apostolic Church and by a significant number of Eastern Catholic Christians in the Republic of Georgia. It is patterned after the directives of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, founder and patron saint of the Armenian Church. Unlike the Byzantine Church, churches of the Armenian rite are usually devoid of icons and have a curtain concealing the priest and the altar from the people during parts of the liturgy. The use of bishop's mitre and of unleavened bread is reminiscent of the influence Western missionaries once had upon both the miaphysite Orthodox Armenians as well as upon the Armenian Rite Catholics.belongs to the group of Eastern Rite Catholic churches. 

Under the Patriarch are several Archeparchies and numerous Eparchies and Exarchates around the world, with a total of about three quarters of a million members worldwide.


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