Page 175 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

176 The Armenian Church

and Evangelical churches. It also exposed
the Armenian Church and the people to
multiple problems of a diverse nature and
scope. Despite this situation, the Church did
not isolate itself from the outside world.
It continued relations with most of the
centers and branches of Christianity, and, it
engaged in theological dialogues and church-
union negotiations with Rome and Constan-
tinople. The Armenian Church deepened its
knowledge and broadened its views of other
churches by sending Armenian clergy to
study in the major theological institutions
and centers, by translating the works of out-
standing church fathers into Armenian, and
by exchanging letters with the Syrian, Greek,
and Latin church hierarchs.
The Armenian presence in Cilicia, where
east and west interacted closely, provided a
unique opportunity for the Armenian Church
to be in continuous touch with its multi-
religious, multi-confessional, and multi-
ethnic environment and enlarge the scope of
its relations. The Cilician experience also en-
couraged the Armenian Church to exercise
proactive, but cautious, approaches to deeply
divisive and controversial issues, remaining
faithful to the core of its theological teachings
and doctrinal attitude. The clergy in Ar-
menia, referred to in Armenian history as
'eastern vartabeds,' who represented the un-
yielding trend within the Armenian Church,