Khachik II 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 1058 and 1065. He succeeded his uncle
Peter I of Armenia Catholicos Peter I Getadardz (? – died 1058) ( hy, Պետրոս Ա. Գետադարձ ) was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1019 and 1058. He was the brother of a former Catholicos Khachik I. He was the author of several w ...
still in 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 ...
. He was summoned to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
on the assumption that his uncle had been in possession of the treasures of the Armenian kings which the emperor wanted, but Peter did not have any of it. Khachik remained there for three years and the emperor tried to get the Armenians to switch to using the Greek religious rites. The clergy drew up a statement that they would never submit to the Greek rite, causing the Byzantines to look upon the Armenians as infidels.
In 1064 a large
Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to:
* Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia
* Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities
* Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
army, headed by Sultan
Alp Arslan
Alp Arslan was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south and northwest, and his v ...
, attacked Ani and after a month's siege it was sacked and the populace massacred. During these times Khachik was living at Tavbloor and after being given report of what happened at Ani he was extremely grieved and died shortly after. On his death the Byzantines hoped to leave Armenia without a pontiff for good, part of an effort to subdue them as a people and assimilate them into the Greek rite. However, Mary the daughter of King Gagik-Abas of Kars was a favorite of Byzantine Empress
Eudokia Makrembolitissa
Eudokia Makrembolitissa ( el, Εὐδοκία Μακρεμβολίτισσα, Eudocia Macrembolitissa) was a Byzantine empress by her successive marriages to Constantine X Doukas and Romanos IV Diogenes. She acted as regent of her minor son, Mi ...
and obtained through her influence the permission to fill the empty seat.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khachik 02 Of Cilicia
Catholicoi of Cilicia
Catholicoi of Armenia
Armenian Oriental Orthodox Christians
11th-century Armenian people
11th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops