The
Council of Hromkla
(or
Hromgla
) (
Armenian
:
????????? ?????
,
romanized
:
H?omklayi ?o?ov
) was a
council
of the
Armenian Apostolic Church
held in
Hromkla
in April 1178 or at Easter 1179, with the purpose of finalizing the union with the
Eastern Orthodox Church
. The council was convened by the
Armenian Catholicos
Nerses IV the Gracious
, but since he had passed away, it was presided over by his nephew and successor,
Gregory IV the Young
. Its aim was to have the
Armenian Apostolic Church
adopt the outcome of the discussions between
Nerses IV the Gracious
and the
Eastern Orthodox Church
, including the recognition of
dyophysitism
, the belief that
Jesus Christ
would have two natures.
Despite the opposition from certain
monks
and an Armenian
bishop
, the council adopted the propositions of
Gregory IV the Young
and
Nerses IV
the Gracious, and signed the union with the Eastern Orthodox Church. However, despite these developments, the Eastern Orthodox Church turned away from the matter and did not follow through with the council, considering the two Churches not to be in union by its conclusion, notably due to the death of
Manuel I Comnenus
in 1180.
The council is still recognized by the
Armenian Apostolic Church
. In January 1999, Catholicos
Karekin I
wrote an article revisiting the Council of Hromkla and its contribution to the history and theology of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
[1]
Additionally, Catholicos
Aram I
dedicated a book to the topic in 2011.
[2]
Background
[
edit
]
In 1158, the
Rubenid dynasty
took control of
Armenian Cilicia
and decided to become a vassal of the
Byzantine Empire
.
[3]
With more open political relations, theological discussions could resume. Catholicos
Gregory III Pahlavuni
sent his brother and future successor,
Nerses IV the Gracious
, to negotiate with the Byzantines and explore the possibility of union. In 1165, Nerses met with the
protostator
Alexis Comnenus
at
Mopsuestia
to discuss these matters.
[3]
Gregory III Pahlavuni
passed away and was succeeded by his younger brother, Nerses, in 1166.
[4]
Emperor
Manuel I Comnenus
, who had a religious education, became quickly interested in the matter and decided to ask Nerses to send the statement of faith of the
Armenian Apostolic Church
to
Constantinople
.
[3]
[4]
This letter later became known as the "
Exposition of the Faith of the Armenian Church
".
[5]
[6]
In this letter, Nerses declared that the
Armenian Apostolic Church
acknowledged the two natures of
Jesus Christ
and that the Armenian Church was not
Monophysite
nor
Miaphysite
, but that it preferred to use the Cyrillian terminology of "one nature", based on its own tradition.
[3]
[6]
He also recognized
dyothelism
in the Exposition.
[6]
Nerses also defended
iconodulism
and acknowledged that some
Armenians
were
iconoclasts
, but he condemned their views.
[3]
[7]
The rest of the letter addressed practical organizational matters related to
fasting
,
liturgy
,
[3]
[8]
[9]
and the date of Christmas, which the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated separately.
[3]
Manuel I Comnenus
was moved by Nerses' letter and proposals and suggested that Nerses came to
Constantinople
to continue the discussion.
[4]
[10]
However, Nerses responded that it would be better for the emperor to send a representative to
Hromkla
, the seat of the Catholicos, to hold the discussions there.
[4]
[9]
Two representatives were sent by the emperor: a theologian named
Theorianos
and an Eastern Orthodox Armenian
hegumen
named John Outman.
[9]
They brought along a series of demands from the emperor, covering not only doctrinal points but also liturgical and organizational issues, which troubled Nerses due to their severity.
[4]
[9]
In 1170, a discussion took place between these representatives and the Armenian bishops, including
Nerses
[3]
and the future
Gregory IV the Young
. This discussion was preserved in the
Patrologia Graeca
.
[9]
[11]
It was then decided to organize a
council
in the upcoming years, and Nerses sent a synodal letter to address the issue of union to the Armenian clerics, summoning them to attend the council,
[3]
[8]
[12]
[13]
[14]
even if the Rubenids were at that time independent.
[3]
After the death of
Nerses IV the Gracious
in 1173, his nephew succeeded him as
Gregory IV the Young
.
[4]
[13]
In 1174, Gregory IV managed to persuade the Byzantine emperor to set aside a significant portion of the demands and focus on doctrinal questions, mainly the issue of
Monophysitism
or
Dyophysitism
.
[3]
[4]
[8]
[12]
According to him, the Armenians were more committed to their own liturgical and cultural traditions than to the union, and asking for such concessions would be the surest way to thwart the union.
[3]
Timeline and consequences
[
edit
]
Timeline
[
edit
]
Gregory IV the Young
presided over the council, which took place in Hromkla in April 1178
[3]
[8]
or at Easter 1179.
[4]
[15]
[16]
The
Catholicos of Albania (Caucasus)
and 32 bishops from
Armenia
,
Cilicia
, and the
diaspora
attended the council,
[8]
[10]
[17]
although the bishop of
Ani
and the hegumens of
Haghpat
and
Sanahin
were absent,
[4]
mainly due to conflicts with the
Georgian Church
, which made them highly hostile to the union council.
[3]
In response to their accusations of
Nestorianism
, Gregory sent them a peaceful letter, urging them to reconsider and still come to the council, stating:
[18]
The Greeks have invited us once and twice, should we not meet them courageously and either agree with them or make them agree with us ?
At the council,
Nerses of Lampron
, the archbishop of
Tarsus
, delivered a notable speech in which he criticized the hostilities between the
Eastern Orthodox Church
and the
Armenian Apostolic Church
.
[19]
He called for peace and unity, urging both Churches to set aside their differences and come together in harmony.
[19]
[20]
The council accepted the union with the
Eastern Orthodox Church
[3]
[9]
[21]
and proposed a profession of faith embracing the
dyophysite
belief while adopting the
Chalcedonian terminology
.
[3]
[22]
[23]
Additionally, the council condemned the teachings of
Eutyches
and
Nestorius
.
[23]
The council also recognized officially the
Council of Ancyra
, the
Council of Caesarea
, the
Council of Neocaesarea
, the
Council of Gangra
, the
Council of Antioch
, the
Council of Laodicea
and the
Council of Serdica
.
[17]
From that time and from that council, the
Book of Revelation
also entered the list of canonical books of the
Bible
for the
Armenian Apostolic Church
.
[24]
Afterwards, Gregory sent a letter to the
Patriarch of Constantinople
, in which he declared that:
[18]
We confess, as you do, the ineffable union of the two natures in Christ.
Consequences
[
edit
]
Following the death of
Manuel I Comnenus
in 1180, the agreement signed during the Council of Hromkla was largely forgotten,
[3]
especially since in 1196, the Byzantines reintroduced the liturgical demands that Manuel had previously agreed to set aside.
[18]
Despite the setback, the Council of Hromkla remains significant in the history of the
Armenian Apostolic Church
. In 1999, Catholicos
Karekin I
wrote an article reflecting on the council and its contribution to the history and theology of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
[1]
Similarly, Catholicos
Aram I
, the
Catholicos of Cilicia
, dedicated a book to the topic in 2011.
[2]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
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.
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.
51
(1): 31?39.
doi
:
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
2023-07-29
.
- ^
a
b
Aram (2010).
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ISBN
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ISBN
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.
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JSTOR
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S2CID
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- ^
"NERSES IV SCHNORHALI: Expose de la foi de l'Eglise d'Armenie"
.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
2023-07-29
.
- ^
a
b
c
Vidovic, Julija.
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.
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Archived
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- ^
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doi
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- ^
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- ^
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b
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ISBN
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- ^
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Archived
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ISBN
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- ^
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ISBN
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- ^
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.
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- ^
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Archived
2024-01-06 at the
Wayback Machine
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Structure
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Traditions
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Personalities
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Councils
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Seminaries
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