Page 177 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

178 The Armenian Church

Relations with the
Oriental Orthodox churches

From its early years, the Armenian
Church has been in permanent contact with
the Syrian and Greek churches and with the
centers of Christian theology and mission in
the east, such as, Caeserea, Antioch, Edessa,
Melitene, Alexandria, and Constantinople.
The rejection of the Council of Chalcedon
deepened its special relations with Alexand-
ria and Caesarea and distanced it from Con-
stantinople. The Armenian Church's theo-
logy remained in line with the Alexandrian
theological orientation. The Armenian and
Syrian churches not only shared common
values, traditions, and doctrinal positions,
but also faced common theological concerns
and challenges, which led them to closer
collaboration. The geographical proximity of
the Syrian Church to Cilicia strengthened
and broadened their collaboration. Although
the Armenian Church shares the doctrinal
position and theological teachings of the
Coptic, Ethiopian, Indian-Malabar, and Eri-
trean churches, it did not develop bilateral
relations or collaboration with them until the
20th Century because of their geographical
distance and the difficult conditions they
faced.
Among the Oriental Orthodox churches,
the sense of belonging to the same family