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This is the most widespread Monophysite church. Of about 4 million members worldwide, some 3.5 million live in Armenia, 440,000 in Georgia, and the rest in other countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as the United States, Turkey, and Iran. The heartland of the church is Armenia, where the catholicos resides in the ancient monastery of Echmiadzin, Armenia. The broad dispersion of this much-tested church has taken place in the course of a lengthy history. Even before Constantine (emperor 306–37), ancient Armenia between the Caucasus and Mesopotamia…

1. Term and Usage The word “catholic” (Gk. katholikos, “relating to the whole, comprehensive,” from katholou, “on the whole, generally”) has appeared often in philosophy from the time of Plato and Aristotle (Greek Philosophy). Theology adopted it in the lexical sense and developed its basic meaning with reference to the church, its teaching, and its members. 1.1. Though it does not occur in the NT, “catholic” as a predicate used of the church is found in Ignatius of Antioch (ca. 35-ca. 107), who distinguishes between the whole church, where Christ is, and the partial or …

1. Survey 1.1. Theology between Church and Academia 1.1.1. Origins The rise of theology in Europe is intimately connected with the development of the universities. They grew out of the scholastic period, noted for its summas, commentaries, and collections of sentences. Disputations brought scholars together, which ultimately led to the development of a transregional alliance of thinkers and writers. The papacy granted the right to establish universities, as well as assisted them financially. Through its supranational character the papacy legitimated the…