| 399
Dagma Helle
The A menian Apos olic Chu ch and
he ecumenical mo emen
Abs ac
This a icle examines he pa icipa ion o he A menian Apos olic Chu ch in he mode n ecumenical
mo emen a a ious le els (na ional and in e na ional). In pa icula , i ocuses on he ques ion o
he unde s anding o ecclesial uni y and i s a i ude o he ques ion o in e communion o eucha-
is ic communion. I shows a adi ional openness o he ecumenical mo emen and especially o
Eucha is ic hospi ali y.
1. No e
When s udying he in ol emen o he A menian Apos olic Chu ch in he Ecumenical Mo e-
men , his chu ch appea s mainly as pa o he O ien al O hodox chu ch amily. In o he
wo ds: The A menians seem o ac ecumenically mainly in coope a ion wi h he o he O ien al
chu ches. This coope a ion wi h o he chu ches is in i sel al eady an ecumenical in ol emen ,
because he O ien al chu ches a e in many espec s qui e di e en om each o he , and hus i
is no sel -unde s ood ha hey can ac oge he in all issues. The e o e, he A menian schola
G ego y Shokhikyan ecen ly poin ed o he p oblema ic aspec o placing he A menian Apos -
olic Chu ch wi hin he amily o O ien al O hodox chu ches, because – as he says – he main
bond be ween hose chu ches is he ejec ion o he Council o Chalcedon, hus a nega i e, deli-
mi ing idea, bu no a posi i e common issue. He also poin s o he di e en li u gical adi ions
as well as he di e en biblical canons and ch is ological nuances be ween hese chu ches.
1
So, my in e es in his sho p esen a ion is o unde s and he A menian Apos olic Chu ch
as a Ch is ian adi ion wi h i s own speci ici y. The e o e, I am in e es ed o ind ou i s
speci ic and unique con ibu ion o he ecumenical endea ou . Un o una ely, he e a e no
many sou ces in English, F ench o Ge man – he languages I can manage. Thus, my con i-
bu ion he e is limi ed, bu may be a s a ing poin o u he esea ch.
1 G ego y Shokhikyan, The Chu ch o A menia, 104 .
Kiel-UP •
h ps://doi.o g/10.38072/978-3-928794-95-4/p19
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2. In oduc ion
The ecumenical mo emen is a complex phenomenon and in o de o s udy he in ol emen
o any chu ch, di e en le els and a eas ha e o be conside ed: The in e na ional le el, he
egional le el, and he local le el. A he same ime, i needs o be conside ed ha he ecu-
menical mo emen has di e en b anches o a eas o in ol emen : Bila e al and mul ila e al
heological dialogues o common ac ion in p ac ical wo k. I will no be able o shed ligh on
all hese le els, bu I will p o ide 1) a ew his o ical ac s o he A menian Apos olic Chu ch’s
in ol emen on he in e na ional and he na ional ecumenical mo emen , and 2) I will y o
ind some acks o A menian heological ecumenical hinking. O in o he wo ds: I will y
o ind he speci ic A menian app oach o ecumenism.
3. Some his o ical ac s
3.1 In e na ional le el
The beginning o he ecumenical mo emen is no mally seen in he ea ly 20 h cen u y wi h
he appea ance o he wo mo emen s o Li e and Wo k and Fai h and O de . Especially in
Fai h & O de (F&O), he A menian Apos olic Chu ch was in ol ed om he beginning: A
all h ee i s wo ld con e ences o F&O (1927, 1937 and 1952), he Holy See o E chmiadzin
was ep esen ed by consul an s.
2
A he ounding assembly o he WCC in 1948 in Ams e -
dam, he A menian Chu ch was p esen wi h wo obse e s (A chbishop A a azd Sü meyan
and Achimand i e Schno hk Kalus ian). A he second assembly o he WCC in E ans on, A -
menian obse e s we e also p esen .
3
Howe e , only in 1962 he A menian Apos olic Chu ch
became a membe o WCC, o p ecisely: The wo ca holicosa es E chmiadzin and Cilica
became membe s. In 1964, Ca holicos Vasgen I. appoin ed a ep esen a i e o he Holy See in
E chmiadzin o he Wo ld Council o Chu ches in Gene a. These ew examples show a li ely
in e es in he ecumenical mo emen on he in e na ional le el al eady in he ea ly s age
and – i seems – he e was a special in e es in he heological discou se as i is conduc ed in
he F&O mo emen .
3.2 Na ional le el
As I said be o e, he na ional le el also needs o be conside ed. Bu o easons o ime, I will
only acknowledge he example o Ge many: Since 1996, he Diocese o he A menian Apos -
olic Chu ch is a membe o he ›A bei sgemeinscha Ch is liche Ki chen in Deu schland‹
(ACK), which is he equi alen o na ional councils o chu ches in o he coun ies.
2 Vgl. Mes ob K. K iko ian, Die Geschich e de A menisch-Apos olischen Ki che, 52.
3 Ibid.
Helle : The A menian Apos olic Chu ch and he ecumenical mo emen  | 401
In his con ex , he A menian Diocese in Ge many co-signed a decla a ion on he mu ual
ecogni ion o bap ism, he so-called Magdebu g Decla a ion om 2007, which is conside ed
an impo an s ep o he ecumenical ela ions be ween P o es an s, Ca holics, and O hodox.
3.3 Bila e al dialogues
Ano he impo an ea u e in he ecumenical mo emen a e bila e al dialogues. The A men-
ian Apos olic Chu ch is in ol ed in a numbe o such bila e al heological dialogues. Bu i
is in his con ex ha he A menian Chu ch is ac ing wi hin he amily o O ien al O hodox
Chu ches and no on i s own, as I men ioned in he beginning. The e o e, I will only b ie ly
men ion he mos impo an o hese dialogues: Fi s o all, he dialogue be ween he O ien al
O hodox Chu ches and he Eas e n O hodox Chu ches. I esul ed in he disco e y ha
» hei di e ences a e mos ly seman ic, and ha he i s h ee ecumenical councils, which
hey bo h accep , o m hei ›common he i age‹, and a i m › he apos olic ai h o he un-
di ided Chu ch o he i s cen u ies’‹ […]«
4
To be men ioned is also he dialogue be ween O ien al O hodox Chu ches and he Roman
Ca holic Chu ch, which was o mally es ablished in 2003. The e is also a bila e al dialogue
wi h he Anglican Communion, o icially s a ed in 2002, and he e was a dialogue wi h he
Wo ld Alliance o Re o med Chu ches (since 1993). In all hese dialogues he main issue was
he ch is ological ques ions ela ed o he sepa a ion in he 5 h cen u y, as his is he issue
ha uni es all he O ien al Chu ches in hei ela ionship wi h he o he chu ches.
Di ec con ac s be ween he A menian Apos olic Chu ch wi h o he chu ches can be
obse ed on he le el o chu ch leade ship. The e seem o be closes ela ions wi h he Ro-
man Ca holic Chu ch as can be seen in a se ies o common s a emen s be ween di e en
ca holicoi and he espec i e popes. They exp essed hei willingness o coope a ion and
close ela ionship bu did no ega d heological issues. The la es such s a emen (2016), o
example, aises he issue o pe secu ion o e hnic mino i ies and he p omo ion o ›Ch is ian
alues‹, which a e especially ela ed o he common unde s anding o amily and ma iage
as a bond be ween a man and a woman.5 Such common s a emen s ha e also been issued
be ween he A chbishop o Can e bu y and he Ca holicos o all A menians, Ka ekin I.
4 A am I. Ca holicos o Cilicia, The A menian Chu ch, 181 . C . also: Mes ob K. K iko ian, Die A menische Ki che, 153
.
5 Gemeinsame E klä ung on Paps F anziskus und Ka holikos-Pa ia ch Ka ekin II., E schmiadzin, 26. Juni 2016, 1167 .
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4. Basic ecumenical heological posi ion
o he A menian Apos olic Chu ch
4.1 The unde s anding o Ch is ian uni y
The ecumenical key ques ion nowadays, hough, is how Ch is ian uni y is unde s ood and en i-
saged and how i can be achie ed. Ka ekin I. desc ibes uni y in ela ional e ms i s o all as an
»a i ude o he spi i , a o ce wi h h ee poles: he uni y is a ela ionship wi h God, exis-
ing o ideli y; i is a ela ionship wi h he o he s, wi h hose wo con ess he same Ch is ;
hi dly i is a ideli y o one sel .«
6
A mo e echnical desc ip ion o uni y is gi en by Mes ob K iko ian who conside s he Sala-
manca decla a ion o he Wo ld Council o Chu ches‘ Fai h and O de Commission in 1973 as
an exac exp ession o he con ic ion and p ac ice o he A menian Chu ch. He quo es om
his documen especially he ollowing sen ences:
»The one Chu ch is o be en isioned as a concilia ellowship o local chu ches which a e
hemsel es uly uni ed. In his concilia ellowship each local chu ch possesses, in com-
munion wi h he o he s, he ullness o ca holici y, wi nesses o he same apos olic ai h
and he e o e ecognizes he o he s as belonging o he same Chu ch o Ch is and guided
by he same spi i .«
7
Acco ding o Mes ob K iko ian, he model o ecclesial uni y, which he A menian Chu ch
is pleading o , en ails he idea o »uni y in di e si y«,
8
which he explains mo e de ailed as
li ing as »sis e chu ches, which con ess he one ai h o he i s h ee ecumenical councils
and ac in a ha monious communi y o li e and wi ness.«
9
He inds he p inciple o di e si y
al eady in he wo ks o Ne ses Shno hali:
»In he same way as he colou – black o whi e – does no do ha m o he body, as long
as he na u e is heal hy, he di e si y o eas s and o he ecclesial adi ions do no ha m
he souls o hose, who keep hei ai h sa e and heal hy.«
10
6 Gio anni Guaï a, Ka ékin 1e , 244 (engl. ansla ion DH).
7 Wha Kind o Uni y?, 121.
8 Mes ob K. K iko ian, Die A menische Ki che, 154.
9 Ibid., 155: »Schwes e ki chen […], die den einen Glauben de e s en d ei ökumenischen Konzilien bekennen und in eine
ha monischen Gemeinscha des Lebens und des Zeugnisses wi ken.«
10
Ibid., 158.
Helle : The A menian Apos olic Chu ch and he ecumenical mo emen  | 403
Di e si y as an in eg al pa o uni y is also he subjec o he e lec ions o he a o emen-
ioned
Ca holicos Ka ekin I., who poin s o he ac ha »di e si y, e en con lic s, di e gen-
ces and con o e sies belonged o he li e o he ea lies Ch is ians«.11 Uni y is no uni o mi-
y. Bu impo an o him is he consciousness o belong o ›one‹ Ch is , o ›one‹ Chu ch.12
In his sense, he Ca holicos ad oca es o a so o ecumenism o mu ual exchange when
he says:
»Ou holy chu ch needs, h ough na ow connec ions wi h o he chu ches, o unde s and
he posi i e aspec s o he expe iences o o he chu ches as a new challenge o i s own
mo i a ion and ac ion.«
13
Bo h Ka ekin I. and Mes ob K. K iko ian use he e m »sis e chu ches«
14
in his con ex in he
sense o he basic ela ionship be ween he di e en chu ches which unde s and hemsel es
as being in uni y.
Ka ekin is con inced ha he only way o ecumenism is dialogue.15 And he basic a i-
ude and impo an p econdi ion o such dialogue is lo e: »[…] i God is lo e […] we also
need o be lo e, […] and, le us ne e o ge – lo e does no know di ision […]«.16 The e o e
– in his mind – i is no he p ocess o exchange and e lec ion in he ecumenical deba e ha
is he mos impo an elemen , bu he mani es a ion o his lo e.
4.2 The ques ion o in e communion/eucha is ic sha ing
One o he key issues when alking abou uni y is he ques ion o eucha is ic communion,
since he sepa a ion be ween chu ches becomes always mos isible a he eucha is ic able.
As he A menian schola G ego y Shokhikyan obse es,
»The Chu ch o A menia, unlike he Wes e n Chu ches, does no ha e an o icial and com-
p ehensi e documen on he in e communion be ween he Chu ches.«
17
11 Ka ekin I, Kon on ie mi uns selbs . E ö nungs o ag bei de Zwei en Eu opäischen Ökumenischen Ve sammlung
G az, 126 (»Die Viel al , ja soga die S ei igkei en, Di e genzen und Kon o e sen gehö en zum Leben de ühes en
Ch is en.« Engl. ansl. DH). C . also: Guai a, 255.
12
Ka ekin I., ibid.
13 Ka ekin I., An i s-Enzyklika, 96. (»Unse e heilige Ki che muss du ch enge Ve bindung zu ande en Ki chen die posi i en
Aspek e de E ah ungen ande e Ki chen als eine neue He aus o de ung ü ih e eigene Mo i a ion und Handlung e -
s ehen.« Engl. ansl. DH)
.
14 Mes ob K. K iko ian, Die A menische Ki che,155; Ka ekin I., An i s-Enzyklika, 91.
15 Gio anni Guaï a, Ka ékin 1e , 256 (»Je pense que la seule oie pou ésoud e ces p oblèmes es e es e oujou s le dialo-
gue […] je suis con aincu que jus emen là où il y a de o es di e gences, il n’exis e pas d’au e moyen ch é ien que le
dialogue, ai de espec mu uel e de la pa ience que Jésus a mani es ée a ec nous.« Engl. ansl. DH).
16 Gio anni Guaï a, Ka ékin 1e , 244.
17 G ego y Shokhikyan, The Chu ch o A menia, 106.

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This is p obably due o he ac ha
»in e communion de ac o is no ega ded as a canonical o a dogma ic posi ion bu a
pas o al issue, a ma e o economia.«
18
This means ha he p ac ice di e s in he di e en dioceses. These di e en posi ions can be
g ouped in o wo, acco ding o Shokhikyan: a) he con ic ion ha Eucha is ic sha ing can
happen only be ween he O ien al and Eas e n O hodox amily. b) Eucha is ic hospi ali y o
e e y bap ized Ch is ian is possible as long as s/he con esses he Nicene/Apos les C eed and
li es acco ding o Ch is ian mo al ideals.
I is p obably in his spi i o he second g oup ha
«A menian bishops a he CEC Assembly in T ondheim, No way, in 2003 in i ed all pa -
icipan s, O hodox and P o es an , o ecei e communion du ing he A menian Li u gy
which hey celeb a ed.«
19
In his con ex o he wide ecumenical mo emen , his was a su p ising ges u e o many
P o es an s, bu om my own expe ience I know ha i is a p ac ice ha is common in some
speci ic con ex s in which he A menian Chu ch is exis ing. Thus, as Shokhikyan w i es:
»[…] he Chu ch o A menia is a a e Eas e n Chu ch ha locally p ac ices Eucha is ic
hospi ali y owa ds all bap ized and ai h ul Ch is ians as long as hey a e good s anding
membe s o hei chu ches.«
20
5. Conclusion
The A menian Apos olic Chu ch has a ce ain adi ion o openness and an in e es in ecumenical
engagemen . I shows some s a ing poin s o an indi idual app oach o ecumenism which ob i-
ously canno be de eloped easily in he adi ional combina ion wi h he o he O ien al O hodox
Chu ches. »Fo ming iendship and mu ual ecogni ion o holy li ing«
21
can be unde s ood as
pe spec i e ha he A menian Chu ch could con ibu e o he p og ess o ecumenical hough .
18 Ibid., 106 .
19 Coun y P o ile A menia, h ps://www.oikoumene.o g/ esou ces/documen s/coun y-p o ile-a menia.
20 G ego y Shokhikyan, The Chu ch o A menia, 122.
21 This is also wha Shokhikyan means when he claims ha he ese a ions o A menian Ch is ians o ecei e Eucha is
in o he chu ches would need o be o e come. Op.ci ., 122.
Helle : The A menian Apos olic Chu ch and he ecumenical mo emen  | 405
Re e ences
A am I. Ca holicos o Cilicia, The A menian Chu ch. An
In oduc ion o A menian Ch is iani y, An elias 2016.
Coun y p o ile A menia, h ps://www.oikoumene.
o g/ esou ces/documen s/coun y-p o ile-a menia
(las accessed: Feb ua y 2, 2023).
Gemeinsame E klä ung on Paps F anziskus und Ka-
holikos-Pa ia ch Ka ekin II., E schmiadzin, 26. Juni
2016, in: Dokumen e wachsende Übe eins immung.
Säm liche Be ich e und Konsens ex e in e kon es-
sionelle Gesp äche au Wel ebene, Band 5, 2011-
2019, Ed. by Johannes Oeldemann u.a., Pade bo n/
Leipzig: Boni a ius/EVA, 2011, 1166–1168.
Guaï a, Gio anni, Ka ékin 1e . Ca holicos de ous les A -
méniens, Mon ouge: Nou elle Ci é, 1998.
Ka ekin I., Ka holikos Alle A menie , »Kon on ie mi
uns selbs «. E ö nungs o ag bei de Zwei en Eu o-
päischen Ökumenischen Ve sammlung G az, Juni
1997, in: S.H. Ka ekin I., Ka holikos Alle A menie ,
He aus o de ungen zu E neue ung. Fü ein neu-
es Zei al e in de A menischen Ki che, Köln 1998,
108–129.
Ka ekin I., An i s-Enzyklika, in: S.H. Ka ekin I. He -
aus o de ungen zu E neue ung, op.ci ., 89–98.
K iko ian, Mes ob K., Die Geschich e de A menisch-
Apos olischen Ki che, in: F ied ich Heye (Hg.), Die
Ki che A meniens. Eine Volkski che zwischen Os
und Wes , S u ga : E angelisches Ve lagswe k,
1978.
K iko ian, Mes ob K., Die A menische Ki che, F ank u
u.a.: Pe e Lang, 2007.
Shokhikyan, G ego y, The Chu ch o A menia and he
Sac amen al Sha ing. His o ical Ho izon, Fu u e
Pe spec i es, in: RES 14,1 (2022), 100–122.
Wha Kind o Uni y?, Fai h & O de Pape No. 69, WCC
1974.
Au ho
Re . D . Dagma Helle
Kon essionskundliches Ins i u des E . Bundes, Bensheim, Deu schland, dagma .helle @ki-eb.de
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