What is Armenian Apostolic Church?
[[File:Anjar 4.jpg|thumb|270px|Saint Nshan Church in [[Armavir, Armenia|Armavir]]]] The '''Armenian Apostolic Church''' ([[Armenian language|Armenian]]: Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի), also called the '''Armenian Orthodox Church''' or the '''Gregorian Church''', is the world's oldest [[national church]]<ref>The Journal of Ecclesiastical History - Page 268 by Cambridge University Press, Gale Group, C.W. Dugmore</ref><ref>The Armenian Massacres, 1894-1896: 1894-1896 : U.S. media testimony - Page 131 by A. Dzh. (Arman Dzhonovich) Kirakosian</ref> and one of the most ancient [[Christian]] communities.<ref>The Antiquities of the Christian Church - Page 466 by Johann Christian Wilhelm Augusti, Georg Friedrich Heinrich Rheinwald, Carl Christian Friedrich Siegel</ref> == History == The [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]] was the first state to adopt [[Christianity]] as its official religion under the rule of [[Tiridates III of Armenia|King Tiridates]] in the early 4th century.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Basic Books| isbn = 978-0-465-09473-8| last = Scott| first = Michael| title = Ancient Worlds: A Global History of Antiquity| url = https://archive.org/details/ancientworldsglo0000scot| date = 2016-11-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=René|last=Grousset|title=Histoire de l'Arménie|publisher=Payot|year=1947|edition=1984|page=122}}. Estimated dates vary from 284 to 314. Garsoïan (''op.cit.'' p.82), following the research of Ananian, favours the latter.</ref> The church claims to have originated in the missions of Apostles [[Bartholomew the Apostle|Bartholomew]] and [[Jude the Apostle|Thaddeus]] in the 1st century, by tradition. The Church teaches that it was first preached by two [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]] of [[Jesus]], [[Thaddeus|St. Thaddeus]] and [[Bartholomew the Apostle|St. Bartholomew]]. The Armenian Apostolic Church claims to been in existence since the days of the apostles and therefore would be one of the oldest denominations of Christianity. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its