Catholicos Nahabed I of
Edessa
Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
(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 ...
Նահապետ Ա. Եդեսացի) 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 1691 and 1705.
He was a virtuous man of meek disposition. He made many improvements to
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 ...
during his reign and attempted to reunite his countrymen. He wrote to Pope
Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700.
He ...
professing submission to the Roman Catholic Church, for which shortly after Nahabed was expelled from Etchmiadzin by a bishop. This Bishop Stephen planned a coup and deposed the Catholicos, putting himself on the throne and reigning for 10 months, at which point the Armenian clergy seized him and restored Nahabed. Stephen's reign is not recognized as a pontifical reign because it was never recognized by other branches of the church as rules dictated needed to be done. Pope Innocent responded to the letter in 1696 with the gift of a papal throne, which is still on display in Etchmiadzin today. Nahabed again wrote of his submission to Rome, a move which inflamed the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople when he learned of these moves. Much turmoil followed there with the Patriarchate being usurped multiple times and leading to a division in the people. When Nahabed died there was still much confusion and turmoil amongst the people and so the pontificate stayed vacant for more than a year until
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
of
Julfa was called to the throne by general consent.
Catholicoi of Armenia
Armenian Oriental Orthodox Christians
1705 deaths
Year of birth unknown
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