The theological dialogue in Russian-Armenian church relations: history and today

The article analyzes the features of theological dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Churches, based not on a theological, but on a historical approach. The development and change of the attitude of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church towards the Armenian faith throughout the history of Russian-Armenian church relations is shown. It is known that up to the middle of 19th century Russian clergy were guided by ideas about the Armenian faith that were formed during the Middle Ages. The period from the second half of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th centuries was marked by a theological discourse with scholars, publicists, and clergymen of both Churches as key participants. The bonds that developed in the 1940 and ‘50s between the Russian Orthodox and Armenian Churches formed a historical basis for the beginning of the official theological dialogue, which remains one of the directions of Russian-Armenian inter-church cooperation today. The features of contemporary theological dialogue are revealed in documents, different publications and interview materials of the representatives of both Churches. The novelty in the study of this topic lies in the use of a number of materials in the Armenian language, which provides a clearer understanding of the current Christological position of the Armenian Church and its interpretation of the term “Orthodoxy”.