Christian countries

A Christian state is a country that recognizes a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has a state church, which is a Christian denomination that supports the government and is supported by the government. Historically, the nations of Armenia,Aksum,Georgia, as well as the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire declared themselves as Christian states. Today, several nations officially identify themselves as Christian states and/or have state churches, including Costa Rica,Denmark,England,Greece,Iceland,Liechtenstein,Monaco,Tonga,Tuvalu,Vatican City, and Zambia. A Christian state stands in contrast to a secular state, an atheist state, or another religious state, such as a Jewish state, or an Islamic state.

In 301 AD, the Kingdom of Armenia became the first state to declare Christianity as its official religion, following the conversion of the Royal House of the Arsacids in Armenia. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest national church. Later, in 380 AD, the Edict of Thessalonica (Cunctos populos) made the Roman Empire a Christian state, establishing Nicene Christianity, in the form of its State Church, as its official religion.