Abas () or Tēr Abas was the

Catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...

and head of Caucasian Albanian Church in the late

6th century The 6th century is the period from 501 through 600 in line with the Julian calendar. In the West, the century marks the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire late in the previous c ...

. He is considered as first autocephalous catholicos of Albania, by the virtue of adoption of his full official insulatio as ''Catholicos of Albania, Lupenia and Chola.'' However, previous catholicoi were also mentioned in other sources.

Tenure

According to ''

The History of the Country of Albania ''The History of the Caucasian Albanians'' (or ''The History of the World of Aghvank''; hy, Պատմութիւն Աղուանից աշխարհի) by Movses Kaghankatvatsi is a history of eastern territories of Armenia ( Artsakh and Utik), as well ...

'', prior to his election as catholicos, he was leading Greater Arran bishopric (). While Kaghankatvatsi describes his tenure as 44 years starting from establishment of

Armenian calendar Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

(that is 552–596 in

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

Mkhitar Gosh Mkhitar Gosh ( hy, Մխիթար Գոշ; 1130–1213) or Mkhitar the Thinbearded was an Armenian scholar, writer, public figure, thinker, and priest. He was one of the representatives of the Armenian Renaissance. Biography He was born in the city ...

offers 23 years (552-575), with

Kirakos Gandzaketsi Kirakos Gandzaketsi (; c. 1200/1202–1271) was an Armenian historian of the 13th century S. Peter Cowe. Kirakos Ganjakec'i or Arewelc'i // Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History / Edited by David Thomas & Alex Mallet. — BRILL, 20 ...

offering as little as 14 years (552-566).

Activities

His tenure saw the transfer of patriarchal see of Albania from

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

Partav Barda ( az, Bərdə ) is a city and the capital of the Barda District in Azerbaijan, located south of Yevlax and on the left bank of the Tartar river. It served as the capital of Caucasian Albania by the end of the 5th-century. Barda became the chi ...

. He was also indirectly mentioned with restoration of

Katarovank Katarovank ( hy, Կատարովանք; az, Qatərəvəng) is an Armenian Apostolic monastery in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is located close to the village of Hin Tagher (Köhnə Tağlar). The mo ...

which was in ruins since days of

Sanesan Sanesan () or Sanatruk () was the king of Maskut in the early 4th century. Sanesan's people, the Mazk'kut'k, have variously been identified as the Massagetae or as the Meskheti. Life According to both Faustus Byuzand and Moses of Chorene, whe ...

. According to a colophon, he recovered some relics of St. Grigoris,

St. Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

, St. Varus,

Mammes of Caesarea Saint Mammes (Mamas, Mammas, Mammet) of Caesarea ( el, Μάμας; french: Mammès; it, Mamante; es, Mamés; pt, São Mamede) was a child-martyr of the 3rd century, who was martyred at Caesarea. His parents, Theodotus and Rufina, were also ...

, Mar Sargis,

Saints Cosmas and Damian Cosmas and Damian ( ar, قُزما ودميان, translit=Qozma wa Demyaan; grc-gre, Κοσμᾶς καὶ Δαμιανός, translit=Kosmás kai Damianós; la, Cosmas et Damianus; AD) were two Arab physicians in the town Cyrrhus, and were r ...

, some of

Forty Martyrs of Sebaste The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste or the Holy Forty (Ancient/Katharevousa Greek ''Ἅγιοι Τεσσεράκοντα''; Demotic: ''Άγιοι Σαράντα'') were a group of Roman soldiers in the Legio XII ''Fulminata'' (Armed with Lightning) w ...

and Theodosius of Jerusalem in 559, latter of them being strongly

anti-Chalcedonian Non-Chalcedonian Christianity comprises the branches of Christianity that do not accept theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Non-Chalcedonian denominations reject the Christological D ...

in nature. Church of Caucasian Albania was a struggle ground between Orthodox and Monophysite views in 6th century. Abas received two letters from top religious heads of its time - Hovhannes II (557 – 574),

Catholicos of Armenia The Catholicos of All Armenians (plural Catholicoi) ( hy, Ամենայն Հայոց Կաթողիկոս; see #Other names), is the chief bishop and spiritual leader of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the worldwide Arm ...

and John IV (575 - 594), Patriarch of Jerusalem, both urging Abas to come to their side. Despite posed as staunch anti-Chalcedonian in ''The History of the Country of Albania'', some scholars consider his monophysitism a later addition to sources. Jasmine Dum-Tragut supports the view that he was Chalcedonian.{{Citation , last=Dum-Tragut , first=Jasmine , title=7 One or two? On Christological and Hierarchical Disputes and the Development of the “Church of Albania” (4th–8th centuries) , date=2023-06-19 , url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794687-008/html , work=7 One or two? On Christological and Hierarchical Disputes and the Development of the “Church of Albania” (4th–8th centuries) , pages=285–332 , access-date=2023-06-30 , publisher=De Gruyter Mouton , language=en , doi=10.1515/9783110794687-008 , isbn=978-3-11-079468-7, doi-access=free

References

596 deaths Caucasian Albania