John IV ( hy, Հովհաննես Դ Ավայեցի) 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 ...

in 833–855 when the country was under

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

overlordship. In 841, he was deposed by the episcopal synod through the machinations of

Bagrat II Bagratuni Bagrat II Bagratuni ( hy, Բագրատ Բ Բագրատունի, Arabic: ''Buqrāṭ ibn Ashūṭ''; died after 851) was an Armenian noble of the Bagratid (Bagratuni) family and the presiding prince ("prince of princes") of Arab-ruled Armenia betwe ...

, but he was promptly re-installed in his see by Bagrat's brother Smbat with the assistance of the other princes. It was during John IV's tenure that the

Tondrakians Tondrakians ( hy, Թոնդրակեաններ) were members of an anti-feudal, heretical Christian sect that flourished in medieval Armenia between the early 9th century and 11th century and centered on the district of Tondrak, north of Lake Van ...

first emerged.

References

Sources

* * Catholicoi of Armenia 855 deaths Year of birth unknown 9th-century Armenian people 9th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops {{Christian-bio-stub