Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Religious patriarchate in Old City, Jerusalem, Israel.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also called the Patriarchate of Saint James, occupies most of the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. Its cathedral compound holds the Cathedral of St. James, the Church of the Archangels and the Church of St. Toros, which keeps over 4,000 illuminated Armenian manuscripts. The complex also houses a theological seminary, the Gulbenkian Library with more than 100,000 volumes, the Mardigian Museum and the Sts. Tarkmanchatz School.

The complex received tax exemption from Mamluk authorities, documented by an Arabic inscription above the main entrance. This recognition allowed the Armenian community to maintain and develop the institution over subsequent centuries.

The community follows the Old Julian calendar, unlike other Armenian churches. The Gulbenkian Library holds over 100,000 volumes, half in Armenian, and the Church of St. Toros keeps more than 4,000 illuminated manuscripts, the second-largest such collection in the world.

The compound's massive doors are locked at 22:00 and reopen early in the morning, so plan an evening visit before the curfew. The Cathedral of St. James, the Church of the Archangels and the Church of St. Toros stand inside the walled complex, together with the Gulbenkian Library and the Mardigian Museum. The community follows the Old Julian calendar, so its feast days fall on different dates from other Armenian churches.

The entrance gate was installed in 1646 and remains one of the oldest surviving architectural features of the compound. This detail reveals the long continuity and stability of Armenian presence in Jerusalem.