The Church of Albania or the Albanian Apostolic Church was an ancient, briefly autocephalous church established in the 5th century. Igor Kuznetsov.Udis In 705, it fell under the religious jurisdiction of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the Catholicosate of Aghvank centered in Caucasian Albania, a region spanning present-day northern Azerbaijan and southern Dagestan.
In medieval times, the Gandzasar monastery served as the See of the Catholicosate of Aghvank of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which continued to exist until 1828 (or 1836) when it was formally abolished by the Russian authorities, following the forced cession of the last territories in the Caucasus maintained under Iranian Qajar rule per the Treaty of Turkmenchay and the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828).
History
Origins of Christianity in Caucasian Albania According to folk lore, Elisæus of Albania, a disciple of Addai of Edessa (or possibly Jude the Apostle), brought Christianity to Caucasian Albania in the 1st century, building a church and reciting a liturgy at Gis (Գիս) (Kiş), today commonly believed to be the Church of Kish north of Shaki, Azerbaijan. The church became the "spiritual center and the place of enlightenment of people of the East". On his way from Gis, Elisæus was killed near the pagan altar in the small Zerguni valley by unknown people.
Initial Spread of Christianity in Caucasian Albania Shortly after the Christianization of Armenia in 301 AD, Urnayr, the Arsacid king of Caucasian Albania, went to the See of the Armenian Apostolic Church to be baptized by Gregory the Illuminator, the founder and first Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church.M.L. Chaumont, "Albania," Encyclopædia Iranica, I/8, pp. 806–810; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/albania-iranian-aran-arm (accessed on 17 May 2014)
After Urnayr's death, the Caucasian Albanians requested that Gregory the Illuminator's grandson, Grigoris, lead their church. Hieromonk Alexei (Nikonorov) History of Christianity in Caucasian Albania . Part VII.Kaghankatvatsi, I.XI Grigoris had been ordained bishop of Caucasian Albania and Iberia at age 15 and traveled through those lands preaching Christianity. He built Caucasian Albania's third known church in the city of Tsri, in Utiķ. During his stay in the land of the Maskout in northeast Caucasian Albania, Grigoris was attacked by an angry mob of idol worshipers, tied to a horse and dismembered. His remains were buried near the Amaras Monastery built by his grandfather. Caucasian Albania . The Eastern Orthodox Encyclopædia.Kaghankatvatsi, I.XIV
In probably the early 5th century, a local bishop by the name of Jeremy translated the Bible into the Caucasian Albanian language (Old Udi). The earliest extant excerpts of translations of parts of the Bible into Old Udi come from the 7th century, and were based mostly upon Armenian translations. These translations were commissioned probably by Juansher.
Struggle with Persian Zoroastrianism According to the 5th century Armenian historian and vardapet Elishe, in 450 the Sasanid king of Persia Yazdegerd II ordered the highest nobles in Caucasian Albania, Armenia, and Georgia to come to his capital in Ctesiphon for the purpose of compelling their conversion to Zoroastrianism. Prior to going, representatives from all three nations vowed to each other that they would never relinquish their faith. Although while in Ctesiphon the nobles relented, were showered with gifts, and sent back to their lands accompanied by Zoroastrian priests to establish the religion in their respective nations, upon returning home these nobles were spurred by popular sentiment to hold more firmly to their Christian faith and rebel against King Yazdegerd II under the leadership of the Armenian noble Vardan Mamikonian. Vardan Mamikonian was killed, and the revolt was defeated, at the Battle of Avarayr in 451. The king of Caucasian Albania, Vache II of Albania, converted to Zoroastrianism.
Around 457 AD, Vache II took advantage of a dynastic dispute between Peroz I and Hormizd III to declare independence and re-convert to Christianity. Vache's rebellion ended when Peroz offered him peace and the right to remain a Christian, but only if Vache would allow his mother and wife, who were both Persian and Zoroastrian by birth, to return to their homeland. Vache complied, abdicated, and lived the rest of his life in solitude.Kaghankatvatsi, I.X Igor Diakonov. (ed.) History of the Ancient World . Vol. 3. Lec. 9: Transcaucasia and the Adjacent States between Iran and Rome. Christianization of Transcaucasia. Nauka. Moscow: 1983 Caucasian Albania was left kingless from 462 to 485.
Golden Age Christianity reached its golden age in the late 5th century under Vachagan III the Pious (ruled 485–523), who launched a campaign against idol worship and witchcraft in Caucasian Albania and discouraged Zoroastrianism. Those who propagated idol worship were physically punished, enslaved, or ostracized. King Vachagan would personally arrange for their children to be taken to schools and raised Christian. He took an active part in Christianizing Caucasian Albanians and appointing clergy to monasteries throughout his kingdom. On his orders, the site of St. Gregoris' burial was discovered and venerated.Kaghankatvatsi, I.XVIII-XIXIvan Shopen. Materials for Description of Territory and Tribes of the Caucasus. N.Tiblen: 1856; p. 431
In 488, Vachagan convoked the Council of Aghuen in his summer residence near present-day Mardakert. During the council, a twenty-one paragraph codex formalizing and regulating the important aspects of the Church's structure, functions, relationship with the state, and legal status was adopted.Kaghankatvatsi, I.XXVI
Proselytism among the Huns In the 6th century AD the Huns had established themselves in the North Caucasus, in what is now Dagestan. At the time of Juansher's rule (635–669), they maintained friendly relations with Caucasian Albania. Juansher's assassination in 669 provoked the Huns to launch raids into the country in retaliation for their ally's death. The new ruler Varaz-Tiridates I, who was Juansher's nephew, delegated Israel, Bishop of Mets Kolmanķ, to persuade the Hunnic ruler Alp Iluetuer to make peace, as the people of Caucasian Albania could not be held responsible for a deed committed "by the hand of one treacherous and vile man."Kaghankatvatsi, II.XXXVI During his stay in the land of Huns in 681—682, Israel condemned their pagan beliefs and practices, and preached Christianity. His converts invited him to establish and lead a patriarchate there through a special request sent by Alp Iluetuer to Eliezer, Catholicos of Caucasian Albania.Kaghankatvatsi, XLV Israel, who had already been assigned a congregation in Mets Kolmanķ, declined, and there is little evidence of Christianity among the Huns thereafter.
Decline and Subordination After the overthrow of Nerses in 705, and the expulsion from Armenia by Catholicos Elias I, the Caucasian Albanian elite decided to reestablish the tradition of having their Catholicoi ordained through the Patriarch of Armenia, as was the case before 590.Kaghankatvatsi, III.VIII–XI This event is generally regarded as the abolition of the Church of Caucasian Albania through the loss of its autocephaly, and the lowering of its hierarchical status to that of a subordinate body within Armenian Apostolic Church; namely, the Catholicosate of Aghvank.
The Arab conquest and the Chalcedonian crisis led to severe disintegration of the Church. Starting from the 8th century, some of the local population underwent mass Islamization. By the 11th century there already were prominent mosques in Partav, Chabala, and Shaki, cities that had been centers of Caucasian Albanian Christianity. Caucasian Albanians that converted to Islam were over time assimilated into the Azeri, Iranian, Lezgian, and Tsakhur ethnic groups, whereas those that remained Christian gradually became the Armenians of Shaki and Vartashen (Oğuz) through assimilation.
Hereti, a Transcaucasian province bordering the Georgian state of Kakheti, under influence the Georgian Orthodox Church, was converted to Eastern Orthodoxy by Ishkhanik of Hereti, Queen of Hereti in the 10th century. The religious affairs of this small principality were now officially administered by the Georgian Orthodox Church. In 1010, Hereti became absorbed into the neighbouring Georgian Kingdom of Kakheti. Eventually in the early 12th century, these lands became part of the Georgian Kingdom under David the Builder finalizing the process of their Georgianization.The Caucasian Albanian tribes were divided between the Chalcedonian Georgian Orthodox North centered around the bishopric of Kish and the Armenian Apostolic Church of the south.
At the beginning of Safavid rule, there were 200,000 Christian Caucasian Albanians in the provinces of Vartashen, Qabala, Qakh, Zaqatala, Mingechavur, Shaki. After the Khanate of Shaki was established in the region both the Chalcedonian and Armenian churches underwent severe persecution during the 17th and 18th centuries and much of the tribes converted to Islam, by the 19th century the Georgian Orthodox church was completely extinct with the exception of some Ingiloy. There were 17 Miaphysite villages of the Armenian Church left in Shaki, and the Islamized villages Kish, Faizit, Partez, Kungut (Bash and Chshlagh), Turkish-Orban. Many of the Miaphysite villages faced massacres in 1918–1920 and migrated to the village of Sabatlo in Georgia. In the region of Vartashen (Oghuz) there were 13 Miaphysite villages left, much of the Muslim population being Islamized Udi.Սամվել Կարապետյան, «Բուն Աղվանքի հայերեն վիմագրերը», Երևան, ««Գիտություն»», 1997 – 132 էջ
Modern Caucasian Albanian-Udi Church
In 2003, the Albanian-Udi Christian Community based in Nizh was registered in the Azerbaijan State Committee for Religious Organizations.Sergei Markedonov. Azerbaijan: an Islamist Threat to Religious Harmony . Memo.ru An estimated 4,500 out of the 10,000 Udis worldwide live in Azerbaijan.
Structure of the Church
Theology The Church of Caucasian Albania was represented in the early ecumenical councils and unlike other Oriental Orthodox churches, it generally did accept the Chalcedonian Creed (a doctrine condemning monophysitism and propagating the dual nature of Jesus Christ) adopted at the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451, which was viewed as a return to Nestorianism by other Oriental Churches.
Nevertheless, in 491, Caucasian Albanian bishops, along with Armenian Catholicos Babgen I and Georgian bishops at Vagharshapat, decided to reject the Council of Chalcedon. It was not so much the dogmatic formula of Chalcedon which was the problem, the creed was accepted, but the rules on celibacy and other elements which appeared to assert Roman hegemony were a concern for Christians living under Sassanid and then Arabic rule. Later the Second Synod of Dvin held in 551 also condemned the Council of Chalcedon.