Page 202 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

People's Church 203

weakened its inner evangelistic task. At the
same time, civil society organizations within
the Armenian communities attempted to
push the Church to the periphery of com-
munity life or to take an upper hand in
church affairs. The Armenian Church had
experienced this sort of interference through-
out its history from Armenian rulers, parti-
cularly when the Church's national role was
predominant. Today, in the diaspora, the
Church is at the center of the community,
greatly contributing to the various domains
of community life, while, at the same time,
giving its full attention to its inner apostolate.
In fact, balancing these two dimensions of the
Church's role is often difficult. In Armenia,
however, the situation is quite different.

Church–state relations

The Armenian Church became a de facto
state church at the very beginning when
King Drtad declared Armenia a Christian
nation. Thereafter, the church-state-nation
relationship became a salient feature of
Armenian life. The Armenian kings and
princes considered themselves the defenders
of the faith and the Church acquired a
powerful national role, creating an inter-
dependent relationship between the church
and political authorities. When the Catholi-
cosate relocated its seat to follow the change