「什麼？所以這世界上除了羅馬之外還有第二個教廷？」
What? There's another "Holy See" aside from the one in Rome?
Yes, there is. On May 27, I visited Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenia's state church.
(English version continues on the bottom.)
沒錯，教廷（Holy See）不是只有羅馬才有，亞美尼亞也有自己的教廷，而且還和羅馬教廷差不多古老。它不但已經獨立運作了1700多年，還有著現存全世界最老的幾座教堂建築。
5月27日，我在亞美尼亞的最後一天下午，像當地人一樣的搭上了又熱又擠的馬舒卡（Marshrutka，固定路線載客的私人廂型車），從首都葉爾溫前往西邊20公里處的城鎮Vagharshapat。之所以會拜訪這個我連名字都讀不出來的地方，為的就是拜訪亞美尼亞教會特有、獨立於羅馬之外的「教廷」（Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin）。
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亞美尼亞號稱全世界第一個以基督教為國教（301AD）的國家，比衣索比亞（埃塞俄比亞，330AD）和羅馬帝國（380AD）都還要早，相傳是由十二使徒中的巴多羅買（又叫拿但業，就是以「拿撒勒還能出什麼好的」一句話揚名全球那位）與雅各的兒子猶大（不是上吊的那個）親自建立；既然歷史如此悠久，為何會獨立於基督宗教三大體系（東正教、天主教、新教）之外呢？
簡單來說，亞美尼亞教會是被主流教會斷絕關係（excommunicate）而孤立的。迦克敦大公會議（451AD）裡，教會領袖共同決定，耶穌是「一位、但有神人二性」（one person and two natures），這個講法來自於當時的拉丁文表達；但由於當時的希臘文裡面並沒有相對應的字彙表達「二性」，而讓部分東方教會領袖很緊張，覺得耶穌被分割成兩位了，因此提出反對意見，認為耶穌應該是「一位一性」（one person and one nature）才對（但他的「一性」仍是由神人兩性聯合而成）。這個爭議現在回頭看其實比較像是語言表達的問題，但當時就後者被判為異端了，並逐漸和主流教會分道揚鑣，成為數個獨立發展的系統，亞美尼亞教會就是其中一個；既然都獨立了，有自己的領袖與教廷也就是理所當然的了。
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雖然是個小國的國家教會，貴為教廷，氣勢上還是不輸人的。規模不算小的園區圍繞著中央的Etchmiadzin教堂（全世界亞美尼亞教會的母堂）開展，附近有著各級議會、教育中心、出版部、財務部、大公（教會領袖）居所、修道院等，彼此之間以寬敞平直、直角相交的道路連接，像是一座小型城市一般來說；園區內有好幾座老教堂，Etchmiadzin的歷史可以追溯到西元301年，建於西元630年的Saint Gayane則到今天都還保存著它1400年前完工時的樣貌，再次說明了亞美尼亞教會根本就是教會歷史的活化石。
這樣的一個地方當然也是亞美尼亞人心目中的梵蒂岡與耶路撒冷，不少人會專程跑來朝聖，我也是因為它的特殊歷史慕名而來；不過正巧那天全亞美尼亞教會的母堂Etchmiadzin正在整修，沒機會進去感受從1700年前的古老氛圍，外面又熱得要死，停留不久之後就決定趕快衝回去葉爾溫的青年旅館納涼。但即使是那短短的半個小時，那種如同聖地般的空間感仍然讓人印象深刻，上次有這種感覺應該是2015年在鹽湖城參觀摩門教總部的時候了。
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講到這裡，大家可能很自然的會問下一個問題：如果說這世界上教廷不是只有一個，那是不是也有不只一個教宗（pope）呢？答案是肯定的，不過其情況比教廷還要更複雜一些，只好待我以後研究並親自勘查完畢再來跟各位分享了（遠目）。
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What? There's another "Holy See" aside from the one in Rome?
Yes, there is. On May 27, I visited Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenia's state church. The church is unique in the way that it doesn't belong to any major branch of Christianity (Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism)! It has been separated since 451AD, when some eastern churches were excommunicated as a result of the Council of Chalcedon. Since the church is independent, undoubtedly it's appropriate call the headquarters "the See", as it's literally the highest supremacy in their religious world.
Like a local, I took a crowded and toasting Marshrutka (minivan) from Yerevan to Vagharshapat, where the see is located. The see is very very old. It has been there since 301AD, when Armenia became the first Christian state (even before the Roman Empire did!). While most buildings have been altered throughout history, Saint Gayane Church remains almost intact since it was built in 630AD.
The spacious, grid layout of the complex clearly demonstrates how it was designed to be the most sacred place, like Vatican or Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the central spot Etchmiadzin Cathedral (the mother church of all Armenian churches) was shut down for construction, and the museum was also closed. Since it was hot and there was not much I could see, I left after a very short stay; nevertheless, the pilgrimage-like experience was still memorable.
Now you may wonder -- if there are more than one "Holy See", are there also more than one pope? The short answer is yes, although the situation was even more complicated than the sees. Hopefully I can share another post after some research and in-person visit!
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