The Armenian Catholic Church

Separation

In 553, following the Council of Chalcedon.

History

Mesrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet in 406 and translated the holy books. Fighting a war against the Persians in 451, the Armenians did not take part in the Council of Chalcedon, but refuted it at the Council of Dvin in 553.
In the 11^th century, they were exiled to Cilicia by the Mongol invasion. The patriarch followed them and resides in Sisgot.
In 1441, a second patriarch is elected in Etchmiadzin (Armenia).
In 1740, part of the Apostolic Church separates. The Archbishop of Aleppo, Monsignor Ardzivian, is elected patriarch of the Armenian Catholics. He is recognised by Pope Benedict XIV in 1742 and settles in Mount Lebanon. The patriarch currently resides in Beirut.
1.5 million Armenians were massacred by the Turks between 1915 and 1922.

The Apostolic Armenian Church has approximately 6 million faithful with two Catholicoi (a title equivalent to that of the patriarch in certain Eastern Orthodox churches). There are 600,000 Armenian Catholics around the world, with 450,000 in the East, including 400,000 in Armenia and the former Soviet Union.