Page 69 - THE ARMENIAN CHURCH_Neat

70 The Armenian Church

Catholicosate in Cilicia kept its seat in Sis
until 1921. Because of the tragic situation
created by the Armenian Genocide in 1915
and the forced exodus of the Armenian
clergy from the Catholicosate in Sis and the
Armenian people from Cilicia and eastern
Armenia, after a period of uncertainty, the
seat of the Catholicosate was established in
Antelias, a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, in 1930
(see Appendix D for the seats of the Catholico-
sates).

− The Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Ar-
menian presence in Jerusalem goes back to
the 4th Century when Armenians made
pilgrimages to the Holy Lands and Ar-
menian monks settled there. In 638 Ar-
menians established their own Archbishop
to take charge of the Armenian monasteries
and churches in the Holy Lands. Archbishop
Abraham was recognized by the caliph and
served until 669. In 1311 the Armenian
Archbishop of Jerusalem, Sarkis, was given
the title of patriarch by the Sultan of Egypt.
In 1853, the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Majid
granted the status of custodian of churches
and sacred sites to the Armenian, Greek,
and Latin Patriarchates.
The Arab-Israeli wars and migration of
Armenians from the Holy Lands, Jaffa, and
Haifa caused enormous difficulties for the
Patriarchate, which is located in the Ar-
menian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.