Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Coordinates: 31.7744°N 35.2287°E
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also known as the

Armenian Patriarchate of Saint James (Armenian:
Armenian Patriarchate of
Առաքելական Աթոռ Սրբոց Յակովբեանց Jerusalem
Յերուսաղեմ, Aṙak’yelakan At’voṙ Srboc’ Yakovbeanc’
Yerusaġem, lit. 'Apostolic See of Saint James in Jerusalem'), is
located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The Armenian
Apostolic Church is officially recognised under Israel's
confessional system, for the self-regulation of status issues, such as
marriage and divorce.
Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, previously the Grand Sacristan

and the Patriarchal Vicar, became the 97th Armenian Patriarch of
Jerusalem on January 24, 2013. Manougian succeeded Archbishop
Torkom Manoogian, who died on October 12, 2012, after serving
22 years in the office. The Patriarch, along with a synod of seven
clergymen elected by the St. James Brotherhood, oversees the
Patriarchate's operations. Classification Oriental
During World War I, survivors of the Armenian genocide received Orthodox

shelter in the Armenian convent in Jerusalem. The Armenian Language Armenian
population of Jerusalem reached at that time 25,000 people. But Headquarters Old City of
political and economic instability in the region have reduced the
Jerusalem
Armenian population. Most Armenians in Jerusalem live in and
around the Patriarchate at the St. James Monastery, which occupies Territory Israel, Palestinian
most of the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. Apart from Authority, and
Jerusalem, there are Armenian communities in Jaffa, Haifa and Jordan
Nazareth, and in the Palestinian Territories. Founder The Apostles
Bartholomew and
The Jerusalem Armenian community uses the Old Julian calendar,
unlike the rest of the Armenian Church, which use the Gregorian Thaddeus
calendar.[1] Independence Apostolic Era
Recognition by Armenian
History Apostolic Church
as their
In 638, following the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem from the autonomous
Byzantine Empire, after Sophronius died and the Greeks did not church
appoint another bishop for Jerusalem, the Armenian Apostolic
Official website armenian-
Church began appointing its own bishops for Jerusalem. The
patriarchate.com
office has continued, with some interruptions, down to this day.
The bishops were later elevated in stature and became Patriarchs. (http://armenian-
The Armenian Patriarch is independent and self-governing. The patriarchate.com)
Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem recognizes the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin as having pre-eminent supremacy in all spiritual matters.
After the end of the Crusader period, the Armenian Patriarchs
sought to establish good relations with the Muslim rulers. The
Armenian Patriarch Sarkis I (1281–1313) met the Mamluk
governor in Egypt and subsequently returned to his community in
Jerusalem, hoping to usher in a period of peace for his people after
the Crusades. In the 1340s the Armenians were permitted to build a
wall around their quarter. The Mamluk government also engraved a
protective declaration in Arabic on the western entrance to the
quarter.
The Armenian quarter in this period kept creating "facts on the

ground" by the constant small expansions and consolidations. In
the 1380s Patriarch Krikor IV built a priests' dining room across
from St. James' Cathedral. Around 1415 the olive grove on the
Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, was purchased. In
1439, Armenians were removed by the Greeks and from the Harootiun Vehabedian, Armenian
Golgotha chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, but the Patriarch of Jerusalem, 1900
Patriarch Mardiros I (1412–1450) purchased the "opposite area" as
compensation, and named it Second Golgotha. This remains in the
Patriarch's possession to this day. Because of the rights of the
Armenian Church on the Golgotha Chapel, in the afternoon
processions in the Holy Sepulcher, the Armenian Church has
liturgy there.
At times, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem became

politicized by struggles within the Armenian Church. The
Armenian Patriarchate, due to its proximity to the holy places and
isolation from the main Armenian population, played an important Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate
role in the schism that began to affect the Armenian leaderships in Road
Constantinople and Etchmiadzin (seat of the Armenian church).
Significantly Bishop Eghiazar assumed the Armenian Patriarchate
of Jerusalem and in 1644 declared himself for a short period of time
as catholicos (leader) of all the Armenian church.
In the 17th century, the Armenians were allowed after much

pleading to enlarge the St. James Monastery. At the same time the
Armenian Patriarch Hovhannes VII purchased a large parcel of
land south of the St. James Cathedral, called Cham Tagh. By 1752
the Patriarchate was busy renovating the entire quarter, and in 1828
Interior of St. James Church
further renovations took place after an earthquake. In 1850 the
seminary complex at the south end of the St. James convent was
completed.
In 1833, the Armenians established the city's first printing press, and opened a theological seminary in
1843. In 1866, the Armenians had inaugurated the first photographic studio and their first newspaper in
Jerusalem. In 1908, the Armenian community built two large buildings on the north-western side of the Old
City, along Jaffa Street.
As the Armenian diaspora spread throughout Europe and America, wealthy Armenians donated generously
for the prosperity and continuity of the Patriarchate. The oil magnate and philanthropist Calouste
Gulbenkian came to endow the Gulbenkian Library in the Armenian quarter that was named in gratitude in
his name, today holding one of the great collection of ancient Armenian manuscripts including endless
copies of the various firmans, Ottoman edicts that granted the quarter protection and rights under Muslim
rule.
By the 1920s, most of the Armenian quarter had European-style gable roofs, as opposed to the domes
preferred in the Muslim quarter. In 1922 Armenians made up 8% of Jerusalem's Christians, bringing their
total number to about 2,480 people. It is also noted that non-Armenians found comfort in the protection of
the walled Armenian compound. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Armenian quarter saw further renovations.
The end of World War II brought also the division of Mandate Palestine and the establishment in 1948 of
Israel. The number of Armenians residing at the time in the Holy Land totaled about 8,000. The Armenians
who lived in Haifa and Jaffa, which became part of Israel, got Israeli citizenship; whereas the huge majority
of Palestinian Armenians lived in the Armenian Quarter, and the Armenian Patriarchate and its properties
came under Jordanian rule.
The Armenian community was further reduced after the 1967 Six-Day War and occupation, with many
emigrating to Jordan and some to Europe and the United States, leaving around 2,000–3,000 in Jerusalem
and the West Bank.
The Patriarchate complex

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the home of the Brotherhood of St. James, a monastic order of
the Armenian Apostolic Church with about 60 members worldwide. Within the compound of the
Patriarchate, also lie the private residences of Armenian families.
This residential enclave was, at one time, the largest single compound that housed Armenians, and
represented the demographic and spiritual core of Armenian presence in the Holy Land.
The compound of the Patriarchate, which enforces a strict curfew of 10 p.m., when the massive doors are
closed and locked until the early morning, also houses the administrative offices and residences of the
Patriarch and the clergy. It also comprises:
The Cathedral of St. James;

The Church of the Archangels, another important Armenian church in Jerusalem;
The Church of St. Toros, which is home to the precious illuminated Armenian manuscript
collection, the second largest in the world (over 4,000).
Other buildings of the Patriarchate located within the compound include:
The Theological Seminary of the Patriarchate, a complex located a hundred yards from the
entrance of the compound, a gift of the late Armenian-American philanthropists Alex
Manoogian and his wife Marie Manoogian. Armenian youths from all over the world,
including the United States and Armenia, come to study for the priesthood here, and after
ordination, help infuse new blood into the ranks of Armenian clergy worldwide.
The Calouste Gulbenkian Library, with over 100,000 volumes, half in Armenian and the rest
in English and other European languages.[2] The library is named after its benefactor
Calouste Gulbenkian.
The Edward and Helen Mardigian Museum of Armenian Art and Culture, housing historical
and religious artifacts including precious rugs, Armenian coins and evidence of the presence
at the site of the Tenth Legion of Rome. It is named after its benefactor Edward Mardigian.
Sts. Tarkmanchatz School[3] (Սուրբ Թարգմանչաց, lit. 'School of the Holy Translators'), a
leading co-educational private school and the only one that teaches Armenian, Hebrew,
English and Arabic.
Other facilities
Outside of the compound (just across the city wall) are the Monastery of Saint Saviour and an Armenian
cemetery.
Printing press and media
The Patriarchate also runs a printing press, the first to be established in Jerusalem, which has now become
capable of undertaking commercial color printing. This was the first facility within the Armenian compound
to adopt the concept of computerization on a dedicated scale.
The official organ of the Patriarchate is the long-running periodical Sion (Սիոն), named after the
Armenian name for Mount Zion. The students in the seminary also publish their own official organ: Hay
Yerusaghem (Հայ Երուսաղէմ, lit. 'Armenian Jerusalem')
Medical services
Medical services against a symbolic fee are provided at a clinic donated by the Jinishian Medical Fund.
Free meals to aged and invalid pensioners and indigent members of the community are also provided.
Jurisdiction
The Patriarchate enjoys a semi-diplomatic status and is one of the three major guardians of the Christian
holy places in the Holy Land (the other two being the Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchates). Among
these sites under joint control of the Armenian Patriarchate and other churches, chapels and holy places are:
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City, Jerusalem,

The Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives,
The Tomb of the Virgin Mary next to Gethsemane,
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The Armenian Patriarchate also has jurisdiction over the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) communities in
Israel, Jordan and Palestine. The Armenian churches with full jurisdiction are:
The Saint Elias Church in Haifa

The Saint Nicholas Church in Jaffa
The Saint George Monastery in Ramle
The St. Thaddeus Armenian Church in Amman, Jordan
See also
Christianity portal
List of Armenian Patriarchs of Jerusalem
References
1. "Church Calendar" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170303131744/http://www.armenianortho
doxchurch.org/old-archives/v17/). Archived from the original (http://www.armenianorthodoxch
urch.org/old-archives/v17/) on 2017-03-03. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
2. S. N. Manoogian, The Calouste Gulbenkian Library, Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem,
1925-1990 an Historical Portrait of a Monastic and Lay Community Intellectual Resource
Center, Doctoral Dissertation University of California 2013
3. "Sts. Tarkmanchatz Armenian School of Jerusalem" (http://ststarkmanchatz.org/).
Sources
Stopka, Krzysztof (2016). Armenia Christiana: Armenian Religious Identity and the Churches
of Constantinople and Rome (4th-15th century) (https://books.google.com/books?id=eeq-DQ
AAQBAJ). Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press. ISBN 9788323395553.
External links
Official website (http://www.armenian-patriarchate.com)
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem (https://www.facebook.com/ArmenianPatriarchateJerus
alem) on Facebook
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Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

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Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Coordinates: 31.7744°N 35.2287°E

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also known as the

Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, previously the Grand Sacristan

During World War I, survivors of the Armenian genocide received Orthodox

The Armenian quarter in this period kept creating "facts on the

At times, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem became

In the 17th century, the Armenians were allowed after much

The Patriarchate complex

The Cathedral of St. James;

Other buildings of the Patriarchate located within the compound include:

Printing press and media

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City, Jerusalem,

The Saint Elias Church in Haifa

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Armenian_Patriarchate_of_Jerusalem&oldid=1186513817"

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