Armenia

• Population: 2.7 million (World Bank, 2021).
• Language: Armenian
• Form of government: parliamentary republic

Like several other countries in the Caucasus, due to the vicissitudes of Ottoman and then Soviet history, the culturally and ethnically Armenian population extends well beyond the borders of present-day Armenia. While the population of Armenia stands at 2.7 million, the diaspora numbers nearly 10 million people. Initially settling in Cilicia (southern Turkey) to flee the Mamluk and then Ottoman invasions, the Armenian diaspora gradually established itself in Lebanon, Syria, and northern Iran.

With the escalation of violence against Armenians by the Ottoman authorities beginning in the late 19th century—which led to the Armenian Genocide (1915–1916)—people fled to Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Greece. Many Armenian families also found refuge in France, the Netherlands, the United States, and Australia.

Nearly 97% of Armenia's population is Christian. They are divided into several communities, the largest of which is the Armenian Apostolic Church, which accounts for 92% of the population. There is also an Armenian Catholic Church, which follows the Armenian rite but is in communion with Rome; together with the Armenian Evangelical Church, it accounts for the remaining 5% of Christians in Armenia.

Finally, there are small Muslim and Jewish minorities.

Armenia is considered the first country to have officially adopted Christianity in the early 4th century, thanks to the missionary work of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, the first Catholicos of Armenia, and the conversion of King Tiridates IV.

Due to their conflict with the Persians, the Armenians did not attend the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451, which proclaimed the two natures—human and divine—of Christ in the unity of his person. At a council held in 506 in the city of Dvin, the Armenian Apostolic Church rejected the conclusions of Chalcedon and thus embraced the “Monophysite” doctrine characteristic of the so-called “Three Councils” Churches. On this occasion, it broke off communion with Rome and Constantinople.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is organized into two autocephalous catholicosates: the Catholicosate of All Armenians, with its seat in Etchmiadzin (Armenia), and the Catholicosate of Cilicia, with its seat in Antelias, near Beirut (Lebanon). It also has two patriarchates, those of Jerusalem and Constantinople, both of which are subordinate to Etchmiadzin.

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, historic Armenia saw its territory divided among the Russian Empire, the Persian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the gradual disintegration of the Ottoman Empire gave Armenia hope for independence. At the same time, emerging Turkish nationalism first committed sporadic acts of violence against the Armenians, before carrying out a full-scale genocide in 1915.

Beginning in 1920, Armenia’s incorporation into the Soviet Union led to the development of state atheism in the country. Like the Orthodox Church in Soviet Russia, the Armenian Apostolic Church was alternately subjected to closely monitored tolerance or repression, depending on the needs of the Soviet regime.

Today, although the Church is separate from the state, the Armenian constitution recognizes the fundamental role of the Apostolic Church in Armenian identity and culture.

Catholicism gradually took root in Armenia. During the First Crusade, the Crusaders established their first contacts with the Armenian ecclesiastical hierarchy, which had been exiled to Cilicia (southern Turkey) following the Turkish invasions. A history marked by a mix of friendships and hostilities, attempts at union between Catholics and Armenians multiplied through the 15th century without ever truly coming to fruition.

In 1740, a faction of the Apostolic Church broke away: Archbishop Ardzivian of Aleppo was elected patriarch of the Armenian Catholics. He was recognized by Pope Benedict XIV in 1742. He settled in Mount Lebanon. Today, the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate is located in Beirut. Its current head has been His Beatitude Raphael Bedros XXI Minassian since 2021.

L'Œuvre d'Orient has been active in Armenia since the 19th century. During the Hamidian massacres of 1894–1896 and the genocide of 1915–1916, under the leadership of its then-Director General, Bishop Félix Charmetant, L’Œuvre d’Orient took vigorous action to support the persecuted communities and denounce the genocide. It has continued its work throughout the past century and continues to provide support to Armenia today.

Since November 2020, during the war waged by Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, L’Œuvre d’Orient has carried out four missions in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. In particular, it has supported the reconstruction of emergency housing in Nagorno-Karabakh and the establishment of a rehabilitation center for war wounded at the Yerevan Hospital. L'Œuvre d'Orient also contributed to the creation of the French cultural center in Stepanakert (Nagorno-Karabakh).