George V of Armenia (in Armenian Գևորգ Ե. Սուրենյանց (Տփղիսեցի) (28 August 1847 – 8 May 1930) was the Catholicos of All Armenians 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 the

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin ( hy, Մայր Աթոռ Սուրբ Էջմիածին, translit=Mayr At’oř Surb Ēĵmiatsin), known in Armenian as simply the Mother See (Մայր Աթոռ, ''Mayr At’oř''), is the governing body of the Armen ...

from 1911–1930. He succeeded Catholicos Matthew II (in Armenian Մատթեոս Բ Կոստանդնուպոլսեց), who had died on 11 December 1910 after less than three years as Catholicos.

Biography

Born in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, he studied between 1865 and 1868 at the classical gymnasium in his hometown and in 1872 was consecrated as a priest (vartabed) in the

and consecrated as bishop in 1882. In 1874, he taught at the

Gevorkian Theological Seminary Gevorkian Theological Seminary ( hy, Գևորգյան Հոգևոր Ճեմարան ''Gevorkyan Hogevor Č̣emaran''), also known as Gevorkian Seminary ( hy, Գևրգյան Ճեմարան ''Gevorkyan Č̣emaran'', ), is a theological university-ins ...

in Etchmiadzin, until his appointment the following year as bishop of Artsakh (present-day

Karabakh Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and ...

) and later as assistant prelate in

Alexandropol Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

(present-day Gyumri) in 1878 and in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

in 1881. He was assigned prelate and bishop of

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

, Russia in 1886 and Armenian prelate of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 1894. In 1907 he was assigned as assistant to the Catholicossate in

and elected Catholicos of All Armenians in December 1911, a post he held for three decades until 1930. He was active in Armenian political affairs at very critical times and was part of the Armenian delegation headed by Boghos Nubar Pasha. He also organized relief efforts for the survivors of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. He presided over the Aid Committee for Armenian victims, refugees and wounded soldiers and their families. Aid was provided throughout Armenia as well as Turkey, Georgia and Russia. He was the presiding Catholicos when the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...

was established in May 1918. He supported the various military campaigns, refusing to relocate the catholicosate from

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 com ...

to a safer venue. With the establishment of the

Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

in 1920–1921 and the

Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , conventional_long_name = Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , common_name = Transcaucasian SFSR , p1 = Armenian Soviet Socialist RepublicArmenian SSR , flag_p1 = Flag of SSRA ...

in 1922 made up of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, he refused to leave the position and encouraged the Armenian population to cooperate with the new regime installed as an alternative safe haven for Armenians. He was also actively involved in building new churches in the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

, developing a network of religious institutions and schools and for admitting the four-voice religious music of composer

Makar Yekmalyan Makar Grigori Yekmalyan (also transliterated ''Ekmalian''; in Armenian Մակար Եկմալյան) (2 February 1856, Vagharshapat - 6 March 1905, Tiflis) was an Armenian composer. Biography Yekmalyan studied at the Echmiadzin seminary and later ...

into the church Mass. George V died at

, in 1930 and is buried near Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin in the Catholicosate complex. After his death, the Armenian Church as well as all organized religions in the Soviet Union became subject to persecution and rigid control particularly through

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

's orders. No new catholicos was elected for 2 years as the throne remained vacant from 1930 to 1932. However when Stalin temporarily eased the pressure, the time was opportune for the election of a bishop Khoren Muratbekyan as new Catholicos of All Armenians as

Khoren I of Armenia Khoren I Muradbekian ( hy, Խորեն Ա Մուրադբեկյան; December 8, 1873 – April 5/6, 1938) was an Armenian Apostolic religious figure who served as Catholicos of All Armenians from 1932 until his murder in 1938. He previously served ...

(in Armenian Խորեն Ա Տփղիսեցի Մուրադբեկյան). {{Authority control Catholicoi of Armenia 1847 births Clergy from Tbilisi 1930 deaths