Catholicos Alexander I of New Julfa, Persia (in

Armenian 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 ...

Ալեքսանդր Ա Ջուղայեցի) ( d. 22 November 1714) 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 ...

of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

between 1706 and 1714. Alexander was from New Julfa of the Armenian community in Persia. Prior to his election as Catholicos of All Armenians, he served as Archbishop of New Julfa from 1699 to 1706. In Persia he had been known as a defender of the faith of the Armenian Apostolic Church against the activities of the Catholic missionaries and in 1682 had published his book defending the traditional faiths of the church under the title "Գիրք ատենական, որ ասի Վիճաբանական". He also opposed the Armenians who had accepted Catholicism. The turmoil had engulfed the Armenian church during the reign of the incumbent Catholicos Nahabed I as a result of deep divisions in the Armenian church after he professed submission to the Roman Catholic Church. Nahabed's move had resulted in a rebellion by Bishop Stephen in Etchmiadzin deposing him briefly for 10 months and Stephen declaring himself as catholicos. Although catholicos Nahabed was reinstated later, his move had also inflamed the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople resulting in the Patriarchate being usurped multiple times and leading to a division in the people. When Catholicos Nahabed died in 1705, there was still much confusion and turmoil amongst the people and so the pontificate stayed vacant for more than a year until Alexander of Julfa was called to the throne by general consent in 1706. Although initially Alexander I sent a letter of allegiance to ruling

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

in 1707 at the beginning of his reign, Catholicos Alexander II soon afterwards became in conflict with the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

greatly concerned and exasperated with the excessive activism of the Catholic missionaries. In a letter in 1709 to Pope Clement, he compared the tolerant attitude of Shah of Persia a "non-Christian" as compared to the "Christian" Catholic missionaries who considered the Armenian Christians as "schismatics and heretics". As a result of his efforts, two decrees were issued by then incumbent

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

king (

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

)

Sultan Husayn Soltan Hoseyn ( fa, شاه سلطان حسین, Soltān-Hoseyn; 1668 – 9 September 1727) was the Safavid shah of Iran from 1694 to 1722. He was the son and successor of Shah Solayman (). Born and raised in the royal harem, Soltan Hoseyn ascen ...

(r. 1694–1722) that restricted the rights of the Catholic missionaries' rights with respect to the Armenian population living within the Safavid Empire. The first of these "anti-Catholic" decrees was issued in May 1710, while the second decree was issued in 1712. Alexander I died in

Etchmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

on 22 November 1714 and was buried west of the main cathedral. Marie-Félicité Brosset, ''Rapport sur un voyage archéologique exécuté dans la Géorgie et dans l'Arménie en 1847/1848'', Académie impériale des sciences, Saint-Petersbourg, 1851, "Troisième rapport: Etchmiadzin & Ani", p. 17.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander 01 of Armenia Catholicoi of Armenia 1714 deaths Year of birth unknown People from Isfahan Persian Armenians 17th-century people of Safavid Iran 18th-century people of Safavid Iran