| Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia Holy See of Cilicia | |
| Main Classification: | Oriental Orthodox |
| Leader Title1: | Primate |
| Leader Name1: | Catholicos Aram I |
| Headquarters: | Antelias, Lebanon Previously Sis, Turkey |
| Territory: | Cilicia |
| Possessions: | Middle East, Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, and Africa. |
| Founder: | The Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus |
| Recognition: | by Armenian Apostolic Church as an autocephalous church |
| Members: | 300,000[1] |
| Website: | Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia |
The Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia (Armenian: Կաթողիկոսութիւն Հայոց Մեծի Տանն Կիլիկիոյ) is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church.[2] Since 1930, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia has been headquartered in Antelias, Lebanon. Aram I is the Catholicos of Cilicia since 1995.
See main article: List of Armenian Catholicoi of Cilicia.
The origin of the Armenian Church dates back to the Apostolic age and according to the ancient tradition was established by St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew. In 301 AD, Christianity was officially accepted by the Armenians as the state religion.[3]
The city of Sis (modern-day Kozan, Adana, Turkey) was the center of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia for more than six centuries, starting in 1293 when the Catholicosate moved from Hromgla to Sis. The monastery of St. Sophia of Sis, home of the Catholicosate, dominates the town in early 20th-century photographs.During the Armenian genocide, in 1915, the Armenian population in Cilicia was mostly destroyed.[4]
In 1441, a new Catholicos of All Armenians was elected in Holy Etchmiadzin in the person of Kirakos I Virapetsi of Armenia. At the same time the retiring Catholicos in Sis Gregory IX Mousabegian (1439–1446) remained as the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. Therefore, since 1441, there have been two Catholicosates in the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Catholicos of All Armenians resides in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
In 1922 the American Committee for Relief in the Near East established an orphanage in Antilias for survivors of the genocide. It continued operating until 1928. After the foundation's Executive Committee was petitioned in 1929 by Sahak II, in 1930 the now-vacant buildings of the orphanage were leased to the Cilicia Catholicosate for a period of five years to be used as a seat for the Catholicosate and a seminary for training priests and teachers. The foundation also agreed to contribute $6000-$7000 yearly towards running costs.[5]
See main article: Hask (periodical). The Catholicossate has its own publishing house and has a number of publications, most notably the monthly "Hask" (in Armenian Հասկ), the official organ of the Holy See of Cilicia.
See main article: Hask Armenological Review. It also publishes the annual "Hask Armenological Review" (in Armenian Հասկ Հայագիտական Հանդէս) on Armenian studies
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