Arkina ( hy, Արկինա) was a small village in

Medieval Armenia Medieval Armenia refers to the history of Armenia during the Middle Ages. It follows Ancient Armenia and covers a period of approximately eight centuries, beginning with the Muslim conquest of Armenia in the 7th century. Key events during this p ...

within the Shirak district and near the city of

Ani Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of th ...

. Arkina is best known for being the temporary seat of the

Catholicosate A catholicosate or catholicate is a particular ecclesiastical primacy, headed by a primate titled as a catholicos. Such regional primacies exist within various branches of Eastern Christianity, especially those of Oriental Orthodox tradition. The ...

after

Ananias I of Armenia Catholicos Ananias I, also known as Anania Mokatsi, was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 949 and 968. His predecessor Yeghishe had been deposed as Catholicos and by church regulations no one could be elected during his lifet ...

moved it from

Vaspurakan Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...

in 959. His predecessors lived on Agtamar Island but he found it better to seek protection under Ani's king and to establish himself on the mainland. He lived in Arkina until a cathedral and palace were built in Ani. Arkina had a fortress and perhaps a cathedral, whose ruins are just west of the Tiknis border in present-day Turkey. It would likely have been built by Katholikos Khatchik between 972 and 992; its remaining wall was damaged in a 1966 earthquake.

References

Bagratid Armenia {{Armenia-hist-stub