Page 199 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

200 The Armenian Church

The Church as a unifying factor
Indigenization of the Christian faith made
the Armenian Church the pillar of national
unity. With its spiritual, moral, and pastoral
values and vocation, the Church ensured the
integrity of the nation's life and safeguarded
its national cohesion at critical periods. As a
moral authority, a unifying institution, and a
supreme arbiter, the Church often intervened
in internal disputes and conflicts.
Armenia was squeezed between the Per-
sian and Byzantine Empires, each of which
wanted to subjugate the Armenian people. In
Cilicia, the Armenians were exposed to the
proselytizing attempts of the Byzantines and
the Latins. Under the Russians, then under
the Soviets, then the Ottomans, and, finally,
in diaspora, the Armenians faced two im-
minent dangers: the disintegration of its
institutions and assimilation. Throughout
the difficult history of the Armenian people,
not only did the Armenian Church survive, it
brought all segments of the Armenian people
together and maintained the internal unity of
the nation. Recognizing that the Armenian
Church was a powerful institution, foreign
powers endeavored to control it and thereby
control the Armenians as a whole. The
western Christians appealed for 'church
unity' and the Muslims imposed strict control
on the Church. Both attempts to divide and
subjugate the Armenians failed.