The "Monophysite" Orthodox Churches is a family of Orthodox churches (Syrian, Coptic [Egyptian], Ethiopian, Armenian) which divided from the rest as a result of the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451). The term "Monophysite" comes from the Greek meaning "One Nature", reflecting their understanding the Christ's humanity and divinity shared one nature.
The Armenian Apostolic Church has as its head the "Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians". He is elected for life by an assembly composed of both ordained and lay people. The current Catholicos, Karekine II, was elected in October 1999. The "Holy Seat" is at Etchmiadzine, near to Erevan, the capital de Armenia.
Armenia was evangelised by the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew. In 301, it became the first Christian Nation in history. In 2001, the Armenians commemorated the 1700th anniversary of the conversion of their country.
The Armenian Apostolic Church numbers around 8 million members covered by 40 dioceses. More than half the members and three-quarters of the dioceses are outside the country of Armenia. Large numbers of Armenians were in France by 1923, following the genocide of 1917 where more than 1.5 million of the 2.2 million Armenians within the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire were massacred. There are around 400,000 Armenian in France, with more than 70,000 in the region served by Lyon.
The Church is the place of prayer for all Armenians sharing one Christian faith. It is also traditionally a centre of culture. Over the centuries, Armenian literature and art have developed focussed on the Church.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is a member of the World Council of Churches. In every country where it is present, it maintains good relationships with its sister-Churches.
It has been serving the Armenian community since 1918. Services are held in the Armenian language and take place at the church of St. James, pictured above, which was built in 1955.
The Catholicos Karekine I visited Lyon in 1997.
In France, there are three dioceses: "Ile de France" (Paris), "Rhône-Alpes" (Lyon) and "Provence-Côte d'Azur" (Marseille) which contain 23 parishes served by about thirty priests and a similar number of deacons.
