Alright friends, let me walk you through how I totally fumbled my way into trying to understand the Armenian Apostolic Church. I’m no expert, just a guy clicking around online and trying to make sense of things.
The “Oh Crap, Where Do I Even Start?” Phase
Seriously, I saw something about this church online and it piqued my interest. But how do you even approach something like this? It felt massive and ancient and kinda intimidating.
So, step one: I googled. Big shocker, right? I typed “Armenian Apostolic Church” into the search bar like a total newbie. Tons of results popped up. My eyes kinda glazed over. Everything looked super formal and wordy.
I tried scrolling through the top results.
- First hit: Some official-looking church site. Super dense. Felt like reading a legal document. My brain checked out after two sentences.
- Second hit: Wikipedia, of course. Okay, information overload. Dates, names, schisms… way too much for a first-timer like me.
- Third hit: A news article. Slightly better, but focused on some specific event, didn’t explain the basics.
I was basically skimming like a speedreader on caffeine. Got the gist that it’s REALLY old and central to Armenian identity. Cool, but still… clueless.
Trying to Find the Human Angle (aka The “Actual People” Search)
The dry facts weren’t cutting it. I needed to see real people doing real church stuff. How do normal people practice?
- First try: I hunted for blogs. Typed “personal experience Armenian Apostolic Church” and similar things. Found a few snippets, mostly people talking about attending church on holidays like Easter or Christmas, but not explaining much about the ‘why’ or ‘how’.
- Second try: Looked for videos. Typed in “Armenian Church service” on a major video platform. Score! Found recordings (some full, some clips) of actual liturgies. Couldn’t understand the Armenian, obviously, but seeing the robes, the incense, the singing, the way people stood or knelt… that was eye-opening. Felt different from churches I’d seen before. Lots of standing! Lots of chanting!
- Third try: Searched for “beginner guide Armenian Apostolic Church”. FINALLY, found a couple of articles written for people exactly like me. One broke down the absolute basics: they believe Jesus had one nature (God incarnate), not two separate ones? Okay, filed that away. They trace their church back to apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus. Got it. Their leader is called the Catholicos. Important note.
Started bookmarking like crazy.
Digging Slightly Deeper (Without Getting Buried)
Okay, had some footing now. Time to try and grasp the big stuff, without diving into a theology degree.
- Core Beliefs Refresher: Went back to those beginner guides. Found a list of key things: importance of tradition passed down (Apostolic Succession), the sacraments (they call ’em Mysteries, which sounds cooler honestly), like Baptism and Communion (Badarak). That Jesus Christ is fully God – monophysitism, but the guides stressed modern scholars say it’s more nuanced? That’s as far as I got!
- Key Practices: Learned the big worship service is the Badarak. Usually Sunday mornings. Most of it sung/chanted in ancient Armenian (Krapar). Learned about the Vestments – priests wear special clothes. Saw the cool pictures online. Incense seems like a big deal. Lots of symbolism in everything.
- Calendar Lookup: Discovered they have their own calendar with important feast days! Looked up the dates for Christmas (January 6th!), Easter (Parekentan), Vardavar (water festival!). Way different than what I’m used to.
Hitting Walls and Calling It Good (For Now)
Look, I’m realistic. I hit limits pretty fast.
- The theology got deep and complicated fast when I tried to peek beyond the absolute basics. Stuff about church councils centuries ago… my head started to spin.
- Finding a simple English explanation of a full Badarak service? Tough. Found some outlines, but the meaning behind each part needs way more study.
- The Armenian language barrier is real. So much of the tradition and feel is tied up in the language used in worship.
But you know what? That’s okay for step one. I went from “What is that?” to having a basic idea of its history, importance, some core beliefs, and how the worship looks and feels different. I recognize key terms now.
The best way forward for me? Honestly, finding an Armenian Apostolic church near me and actually going to a service someday, just to experience that unique atmosphere. Seeing it live, smelling the incense, hearing the chants – that seems like the real next step beyond books and screens. But that first leap into the basics? Consider that part done!
