Karekin I (Catholicos of Cilicia)

Karekin I. ( Howsepian , Garegin Owsepian , Armenian Գարեգին Ա. Յովսեփեան , * December 17, 1867 in Nagorno-Karabakh ; † June 21, 1952 in Antelias ) was from 1943 to 1952 " Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia " of the Armenian Apostolic Church .

Life

In 1878 he was accepted into the seminary of the Armenian diocese of Shushi . Two years later, Karekin had to return to the village school for financial reasons. In 1882 he attended the Geworg Academy in Echmiadzin with the support of relatives . In 1888 he was accepted as a deacon in the brotherhood of Etchmiadzin. From 1892 to 1897 he continued his studies in Germany in Leipzig , Halle and Berlin . In 1897 he was promoted to Dr. phil. PhD. In the same year he was ordained a priest in Etchmiadzin. In 1899 he was appointed Vicar General of Tbilisi . From 1902 to 1904 he was the school director in Yerevan . In 1905 he became rector of the seminary in Etchmiadzin. In 1911 he conducted research in the manuscript collection of the Armenian St. Jacob's Monastery in Jerusalem . In 1917 he was ordained bishop of Yerevan. In 1918 he took part in the defensive battles against the Turkish invasion army of Bach-Aparan, Sardarabad and Karakilisse. In 1920 Karekin held the chair of Armenian art and archeology at the Yerevan State University. In 1927, Bishop Karekin was elected prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Diocese of Russia, Crimea and New Nakhchivan. In 1934 he toured the Middle East, Europe and the United States. In the USA he finally worked as a primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

From 1943 he officiated as the elected Armenian Apostolic Catholicos of Cilicia , but was only able to get to Antelias (Lebanon) in 1945 due to the war. On April 8, 1945 he was ordained Catholicos in Antelias. Above all, he endeavored to organize the local seminary and to supply the diaspora parishes around the world with priests. In 1945 he stood in Etschmiadzin (Soviet Armenia) for the consecration of the Catholicos Geworg VI, who was elected there with Stalin's permission after a long vacancy . in front. The Cold War soon made relations between the two Armenian Catholics grow cold .

Merits

Under Karekin I, priestly training received a great deal of attention. The number of seminarians grew rapidly under Karekin. A new seminary was founded in Bikfaya, Lebanon. This improved the supply of priests to the diaspora. Karekin intensified relations with Middle Eastern governments as well as with other Christian churches. In 1947 he supported the repatriation of Armenians to Soviet Armenia.

Works

• Garegin Owsepian: The history of the origin of monotheletism checked and presented according to its sources , Diss. Phil. Leipzig 1897.
• Garegin Catholicos: manuscript colophons 1. From the 5th century to 1250 (Armenian). Antelias 1951.

swell

• Avakian, Arra S. (1998). Armenia: A Journey Through History . The Electric Press, Fresno.

predecessor	Office	successor
Bedros IV.	Catholicos of Cilicia 1943–1952	Sareh I.