Does the Armenian Apostolic Church accept converts?

[Robb]

I've always wondered, does the Armenian Apostolic Church accept converts?  Years ago, I was interested in attending an Armenian liturgy and possibly converting.  I never did because most of the parishes I emailed asking about the possibility of a non Amenian converting, never got back to me (there also wasn't any Armenian churches close by to me as well).

The only person who did respond to my inquiry was an Armenian Catholic priest who told me something like "keep on trying, they can't keepyou out of the Church", or something along those lines.  Thank God the Orthodox Church was more open to converts and did not turn me away in such a manner.

So does the Armenian Church accept new members from non Armenian backrounds or do they only exist to serve Armenian people?  How are converts usually brought into their fold, by baptism, or profession of faith?

[Salpy]

http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php/topic,20304.msg303047.html#msg303047

The above thread has some info that may be useful to you.

I'm sorry no one was responsive to your inquiries.  A lot of Armenian parishes are underfunded and understaffed.  There have been times when I have tried contacting other parishes by e-mail, only to get no response. 

You don't have to be Armenian to be a member of the Armenian Church.  I know some converts, and there is someone on this forum who is thinking of converting.

That being said, if you go to a parish with a lot of recent immigrants, you may run into some xenophobia.  The Armenians have suffered a lot of persecution over the past century, and that tends to make people more closed and suspicious of outsiders.  Of course that is not an excuse for unfriendly conduct.  It is, however, an explanation.

How you are received into the Church depends on where you are coming from.  EO's are usually communed without any conversion process.  I think Catholics may be received by Chrismation, but I am not sure.

One thing to warn you about is that Armenian liturgies are not in English.  If you want to visit an OO Church with an English liturgy, you may want to try to find a Coptic parish.  They are more likely to have that.

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