Christianity is one of the world's religions. This means that it is not limited to the framework of any one people (as, for example, the Japanese Shinto religion) and is common among many nations living far from the place of its origin.
In most countries of the modern world, there is no state religion at all: all religions (except for prohibited destructive cults) are equal before the law, the state does not interfere in their affairs. Such states are called secular or secular. The Russian Federation also belongs to them. From this point of view, it is possible to call Russia an "Orthodox country" and Italy - "Catholic" only from the point of view of historically established religious traditions.
But there are also countries in which the official status of a particular religion is enshrined in law.
The very first Christian state
Often, the very first state in which Christianity acquired the status of a state religion is called Byzantium, but this is not true. The edict of Milan by Emperor Constantine the Great, who opened the way for the establishment of Byzantium as a Christian state, dates back to 313. But 12 years before this event - in 301 - Christianity was officially recognized in Great Armenia.
This event was facilitated by the position of Tsar Trdat III. According to legend, this king was at first strongly opposed to the Christian faith. His confidant St. He put George the Illuminator in prison for refusing to make a sacrifice to the goddess Anahit. Subsequently, the king fell seriously ill. In a dream, an angel appeared to his sister and said that only Gregory could heal Trdat, and the king should become a Christian. And so it happened, and after this incident, Trdat III began a struggle against paganism throughout the country.
In modern Armenia, the special legal status of the Armenian Apostolic Church as a national religion is preserved.
Christian states of the modern world
Christianity exists in the form of Orthodoxy, Catholicism and various branches of Protestantism.
Catholicism has the status of a state religion in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, as well as in several dwarf states of Europe: Monaco, San Marino, Lichtenstein and, of course, in the Vatican, where the Pope's residence is.
The status of Orthodoxy as the "dominant religion" is indicated in the Greek constitution.
Lutheranism has official status in Denmark and Iceland.
In a number of cases, one or another Christian confession is a state not for the whole country as a whole, but for a certain part of it. Catholicism has the status of an official religion in some cantons of Switzerland, and Anglicanism in England, but not in other parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Some countries are formally secular states, but in fact the Christian confessions have a special status in them. The Bulgarian constitution defines Orthodoxy as the "traditional religion" of the country, while the Georgian constitution emphasizes the "exceptional role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the history of Georgia."
In Norway and Sweden, despite the separation of church and state, the king remains the head of the church, and in Norway, Lutheran clergy are equated with civil servants. In Finland, no religion is a state religion, but there are special laws regulating the activities of the Lutheran Church. The situation is similar with the Orthodox Church in this country.
In Germany, the church is separate from the state, but the financial departments of the federal states levy a tax in favor of religious communities. This right is enjoyed by Roman Catholic and Old Catholic communities, Evangelical land churches. The tax is levied on the basis of affiliation with a religious community, which must be registered at the passport office.
