The Diocese of Gougark ( hy, Գուգարաց թեմ ''Gougarats t'em''), is a diocese 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 ...

encompassing the northern Lori Province of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

. It is named after the historic province of

Gugark Gugark ( hy, Գուգարք, lat, Gogarene, Greek: ''Γογαρινή'') was the 13th province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It now comprises parts of northern Armenia, northeast Turkey, and southwest Georgia. Etymology Etymologically ...

; the 13th province of the Kingdom of Armenia. The modern-day province of Lori was one of the cantons of historic Gugark. The diocesan headquarters are located in the city of

Vanadzor Vanadzor ( hy, Վանաձոր) is an urban municipal community and the third-largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 cen ...

. The seat of the bishop is the Saint Gregory of Narek Cathedral. Until December 2010, the churches of

Tavush Province Tavush ( hy, Տավուշ, ) is a province of Armenia located at the northeast of Armenia, bordered by Georgia from the north and Azerbaijan from the east. Internally, Tavush borders the Gegharkunik Province from the south, Kotayk Province from ...

were under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Gougark, when the new

Diocese of Tavush Diocese of Tavush ( hy, Տավուշի թեմ ''T'avushi t'em''), is one of the newest dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church covering the Tavush Province of Armenia. The diocesan headquarters are located in the town of Ijevan. The seat of th ...

was founded by Catholicos

Karekin II Catholicos Karekin II ( hy, Գարեգին Բ, also spelled Garegin; born 21 August 1951) is the current Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In 2013 he was unanimously elected the Oriental Orthodox he ...

. The Diocese includes 29 working churches with 14 full-time priests.

History

During the times of Soviet rule, the region of Lori was included within the Shirak Diocese. The St. Mary (Holy Mother of God) Church of

and St. Sarkis Church of Stepanavan were both operating at that time. At the end of the 20th century with the independence of Armenia, the

Catholicos of All Armenians 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 Arme ...

Vazgen I Vazgen I also Vazken I of Bucharest, (), born Levon Garabed Baljian ( hy, Լևոն Կարապետ Աբրահամի Պալճյան; September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 3 ...

started reorganizing the regions and the Dioceses of the Armenian Church to enable them to operate more effectively. This work was continued by the Catholicos of All Armenians

Karekin I Karekin I ( Armenian: ) (August 27, 1932 – June 29, 1999) served as the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1994 and 1999. Previously, he served as the Catholicos of Cilicia from 1983 to 1994 as Karekin II ( Armenian: ). ...

. On April 15, 1990, the historical

Haghpat Monastery Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank ( hy, Հաղպատավանք), is a medieval monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia, built between the 10th and 13th century. Location The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks ...

was reopened and Rev. Fr. Yeznik Petrossian was appointed as the Parish priest. In 1991, the Diocese of Gougark was officially established by the Pontifical Encyclical of Vazken I. It included today's region of Tavush and the town Alaverdi. Archbishop Arsen Berberian was appointed the Primate; the headquarters were located in the town of

Dilijan Dilijan ( hy, Դիլիջան) is a spa town and urban municipal community in the Tavush Province of Armenia. The town is one of the most important resorts in Armenia, situated within the Dilijan National Park. The forested town is home to num ...

. Later, the seat of the bishop was moved to the Holy Mother of God Church of Vanadzor. Finally, in 2005, the seat was moved to the newly built Saint Gregory of Narek Cathedral. The Diocese was reorganized again on May 30, 1996 by Catholicos Karekin I to include the entire regions of Lori and Tavush (containing the major towns of

Spitak Spitak ( hy, Սպիտակ), is a town and urban municipal community in the northern Lori Province of Armenia. It is north of the capital, Yerevan, and west of the provincial center, Vanadzor. Spitak was entirely destroyed during the devastati ...

Stepanavan Stepanavan ( hy, Ստեփանավան), is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province of Armenia. It is located 139 km north of the capital Yerevan and 24 km north of the provincial centre Vanadzor, halfway between Yerevan and T ...

Tashir Tashir ( hy, Տաշիր) is a town and urban municipal community located in Lori Province at the north of Armenia, near the border with Georgia. It is located 42 km north of the provincial centre Vanadzor and 154 north of the capital Ye ...

, Alaverdi, Tumanyan,

Ijevan Ijevan ( hy, Իջևան) is a town and urban municipal community in Armenia serving as the administrative centre of the Tavush Province. It is located at the center of the region, at the foot of Ijevan ridge of Gugark Mountains, on the shores of ...

, Berd, Dilijan, and

Noyemberyan Noyemberyan ( hy, Նոյեմբերյան) is a town and urban municipal community in the northeast of Armenia, within the Tavush Province. It is located 2 km west of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and 9 km south of the Armenia-Georgia bo ...

). However, since December 2010, the diocese includes the churches of Lori Province only.

Present day

At the time, Archbishop Sebouh Chouldjian (who was then an Archamandrite) from

Malatya Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, was appointed to serve as the Primate of the Diocese of Gougark by the Pontifical Encyclical of the Catholicos. Due to his continuing efforts and dedicated work, various difficulties could have been overcome in the Diocese. Archbishop Sebouh Chouldjian is serving as the Primate of the Diocese of Gougark since June 3, 1996. Various forgotten feasts and traditions have gradually been re-established. In all, the working churches of the Diocese acolyte classes have been created. They work and continuously offer liturgies and other services. With the help and support of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, organizations and individual benefactors from Armenia and the Diaspora, various preaching, church-building, reconstruction and social service programs have been completed.

References

External links

The Diocese of Gougark at BlogSpot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese Of Gougark Gougark Oriental Orthodox dioceses in Armenia