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Destinos de peregrinación cristiana en Armenia

El primer reino cristiano de la historia (301 d.C.), sede del Catholicosato de Etchmiadzin y de paisajes monásticos únicos.

Armenia fue el primer país del mundo en declarar el cristianismo religión de Estado, en el año 301 d.C., una década antes de la conversión de Constantino. Gregorio el Iluminador bautizó al rey Tiridates III, y desde entonces la Iglesia Apostólica Armenia es el fundamento espiritual del pueblo armenio. Etchmiadzin, sede del Catholicós armenio, es el centro espiritual de la cristiandad armenia. Geghard, excavado en la roca y Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO, conserva reliquias de la Lanza y de la Cruz. Khor Virap ofrece la vista más espectacular del Ararat, el monte bíblico donde según la tradición encalló el Arca de Noé.

Destinos en Armenia

Etchmiadzin

World's oldest cathedral and Mother See of the Armenian Apostolic Church

Geghard

Rock-hewn monastery of the Holy Lance

Khor Virap

The pit of Saint Gregory the Illuminator with Mount Ararat behind

Rutas de peregrinación por Armenia

Caucasus Christian Heritage

Armenia and Georgia - the first and second Christian nations

10 días

Información práctica

Visa-free entry up to 180 days for most Western passport holders.

Yerevan (EVN) is the main gateway. All three primary sites lie within a 1-2 hour drive of Yerevan; a 1-day or 2-day driver-guide tour is standard.

Women cover their heads in Armenian churches (scarves provided at major sites). Modest dress for all.

Very safe for tourists. The Armenia-Azerbaijan border is closed; no travel near it.

Historia cristiana en Armenia

Armenia adopted Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD — twelve years before the Roman Edict of Milan and twenty-three years before Constantine's Council of Nicaea. King Tiridates III, miraculously cured of madness by the prayer of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (who had spent 13 years imprisoned in the Khor Virap pit), declared Christianity the state religion of Armenia. Armenia thereby became the first Christian state in history.

The Armenian Apostolic Church traces its founding to the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus, who according to tradition preached in Armenia in the 1st century AD. Saint Thaddeus is said to have brought the Holy Lance (the spear that pierced Christ's side, John 19:34) to Armenia, where it remains today at Etchmiadzin Cathedral Treasury.

Saint Mesrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet in 405 AD specifically to translate the Bible into Armenian — making Armenia one of the first nations to have a complete Bible in the vernacular. The Armenian translation (the 'Queen of translations') is still used liturgically and is a major source for Biblical textual criticism. The 12,000 medieval Armenian manuscripts preserved at the Matenadaran in Yerevan are one of the world's great manuscript collections.

Armenia's Christianity is Oriental Orthodox — distinct from Eastern Orthodox. At the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD), the Armenians rejected the dyophysite formula ('two natures, one person') and adopted a Miaphysite Christology ('one nature, fully divine and fully human'). The Armenian Catholicosate at Etchmiadzin remains the world centre of Oriental Orthodox Armenian identity.

The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 (approximately 1.5 million dead) destroyed Armenia's eastern Anatolian heartland — Cilicia, Van, Erzurum, Diyarbakir, Mush. The 2015 mass canonisation of all the Genocide victims at Etchmiadzin was the largest mass canonisation in Christian history. The diaspora Armenian community (4-5 million people worldwide) maintains the church and the memory.

Consejos para peregrinos en Armenia

  • Etchmiadzin y Khor Virap son fácilmente accesibles desde Ereván en taxi o marshrutka (20-30 min hasta Etchmiadzin, 45 min hasta Khor Virap). Geghard se encuentra a 45 km al este de Ereván.
  • Visite Etchmiadzin el domingo por la mañana para la liturgia; es una experiencia espiritual profunda incluso para los no armenios.
  • El Vardavar (festividad veraniega movible) y la Navidad (6 de enero según el calendario armenio) son las épocas de mayor afluencia de peregrinos.

Tradiciones cristianas en Armenia

TraditionDescriptionKey Sites
Armenian Apostolic (Oriental Orthodox)The overwhelming majority of Armenian Christians (over 90%). The Catholicos of All Armenians at Etchmiadzin (currently Karekin II, since 1999) is the head of the church. Miaphysite Christology — accepted the first three Ecumenical Councils, rejected Chalcedon 451.Etchmiadzin, Khor Virap, Geghard, Tatev, Noravank
Armenian CatholicSmall Eastern Catholic community (Armenian Rite Catholic, in full communion with Rome). Approximately 150,000 worldwide; smaller presence in Armenia itself. The Patriarch resides in Beirut.Bzommar Convent (Lebanon), small Armenian Catholic chapels in Yerevan
Evangelical ArmenianThe Armenian Evangelical Church (founded 1846) is the principal Armenian Protestant tradition. Smaller community in Armenia itself; larger in the diaspora (US, Lebanon, France). Distinctive Armenian-language evangelical liturgy.Yerevan Evangelical churches, Armenia Evangelical College

Frequently asked questions

La mayoría de los ciudadanos de la UE, estadounidenses y muchas otras nacionalidades pueden entrar sin visado o con visado a la llegada. Compruebe los requisitos actuales en el sitio del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de Armenia.

El armenio es el idioma oficial. El ruso se habla con frecuencia como segunda lengua, especialmente entre la generación mayor. En zonas turísticas y monasterios a menudo es posible comunicarse en inglés.

En el año 301 d.C., el rey Tiridates III se convirtió al cristianismo gracias a Gregorio el Iluminador y proclamó el cristianismo religión de Estado, convirtiéndose Armenia en el primer reino cristiano de la historia, una década antes del Edicto de Milán de Constantino (313 d.C.).