Tradition has it that the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus evangelised Armenia. Later, in the IV century, Saint George the Illuminator converted king Tridat III the Great and part of the population. The seat of Etchmiadzin, not far from Erevan, has always been considered the most important. The Armenian Church has lived through many difficulties. The powers that controlled the region through the centuries (Mongols, Mamluks, Turks, Soviet government) all tried to change the faith of the people. In 1915, 1.5 million people – one third of the population – were killed in what is known as the genocide of Armenia.

After the first waves of evangelisation, the Armenian Church opened centres in Jerusalem, Constantinople and Sis of Cilicia (Turkey). The community of Sis developed a relationship with the Church of Rome. In 1439, a delegation of the Patriarch of Cilicia signed a document (Exultate Deo) which had been prepared by the Council of Ferrara-Florence for the union with the Greeks. This provoked a schism within the Armenian Church. In 1742 the Pope granted a Patriarchate to the Armenian Catholic Church. Today, the Church has its seat in Bzommar, Lebanon. There are about 350.000 Armenian Catholics and 200.000 evangelical. The relations between the three groups are good. The Catholic Patriarch, like his Maronite counterpart, takes the name of Peter (Bedròs) to add to its own.

The Armenian Church has a presence in the Holy Land from the V century. Today, about 500 faithful live in Jerusalem, Betania, Ramallah and Haifa. They refer to the Patriarchal Exarch (patriarchal vicar). The Exarchate was created in 1856.