Christmas in the Tradition of the Armenian Apostolic Church: the Ancient Integrity of the Epiphany Christmas in the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) is a unique example of the preservation of the oldest Christian tradition of celebrating, radically different from Western and even most Eastern Orthodox models. Its key feature is the celebration of Christmas and the Lord's Baptism on the same day, January 6, under the common name "Epiphany" (Armenian "Aствацахайтнутюн" or "Սուրբ Ծնունդ ու Կատարում" — Holy Birth and Baptism). This practice is not a late custom but represents a living archaic liturgical layer, dating back to the Dono-Nicean era. Historical-Theological Foundations: Why January 6 and on the Same Day? The decision of the AAC to preserve a single festival on January 6 is based on several fundamental principles. Following the ancient Jerusalem tradition. Until the 4th century, the key festival of winter in the entire Christian world was the Epiphany (Θεοφάνεια) on January 6, which united the memories of the Birth, the Adoration of the Magi, the Baptism, and the first miracle at Cana. The Armenian Church, which adopted Christianity as the state religion in 301 and was organizationally formalized before the First Ecumenical (Nicaean) Council (325), did not adopt the calendar reform that introduced a separate celebration of Christmas on December 25 in Rome (about 336) and gradually spread to the East. For the AAC, this was a matter of preserving the apostolic tradition received from the first enlighteners. Christological symbolism. The theological meaning of the single festival is the unity of Incarnation and Revelation (Epiphany) of the Triune God. The Birth of Christ in the flesh and His manifestation as the Son of God at the Baptism are two acts of one divine economy. The festival emphasizes not so much the historical circumstances of the birth in Bethlehem, but the fact of the Incarnation and the first public manifestation of Christ to the world as the Messi ... Read more