Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Pargev Martirosyan ( hy, Պարգև արքեպիսկոպոս Մարտիրոսյան; born 20 March 1954) is an Armenian clergyman who served as the Primate of the

Diocese of Artsakh The Diocese of Artsakh ( hy, Արցախի թեմ, Artsakhi t'em) is one of the largest dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church covering the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. It is named after the historic province of Artsakh; the 10th provi ...

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 ...

from the re-establishment of the diocese in 1989 until 2021. He retired from his post in January 2021 and was appointed Pontifical envoy-at-large by Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.

Early life and education

Martirosyan was born Gurgen Martirosyan in the Soviet Azerbaijani city of Sumqayit in 1954 to an

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 ...

family from Chardakhly village. His family moved to

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

in 1966. In 1976 he graduated from the Yerevan Institute of Foreign Languages. Martirosyan later worked in Yeghegnut village school as a Russian language teacher, after which he was drafted to the Soviet army. From 1978 to 1980, he worked at the Ministry of Industry. In 1980 Martirosyan was admitted to 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 Ejmiatsin. He was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1983. He finished the seminary in 1984 and continued his education at the

Leningrad Theological Academy The Saint Petersburg Theological Academy (russian: Санкт-Петербургская духовная академия) is a theological seminary in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The academy grants master and doctorate degrees preparing theologi ...

until 1986.

Caroline Cox, Baroness Cox Caroline Anne Cox, Baroness Cox, (née McNeill Love; born 6 July 1937) is a cross-bench member of the British House of Lords. She is also the founder of an organisation called Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART). Cox was created a Life Peer ...

described him as "a man of considerable intellect, substance, humanity, as well as a man of faith".

Religious career

In 1985 he was ordained as a celibate priest and named Pargev. In April 1987 he was named '' vardapet'' (archimandrite). He taught at the Gevorkian Theological Seminary. In 1987 he earned his doctoral degree in theology from the Leningrad Theological Academy. The same year he started serving at the

Saint Hripsime Church Saint Hripsime Church ( hy, Սուրբ Հռիփսիմե եկեղեցի, ''Surb Hřip’simē yekeghetsi''; sometimes ''Hripsimeh'') is a seventh century Armenian Apostolic church in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armenia. It is one of t ...

. In November 1988 he was consecrated as bishop by Catholicos Vazgen I. In March 1989, he was appointed the primate of the newly created Diocese of Artsakh. In 1999 he was given the title of archbishop by

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: ). ...

First Karabakh War

Pargev Martirosyan was in Karabakh throughout the war with Azerbaijan, which ended in 1994. The Armenian forces marked their first major victory on 8–9 May 1992, when they took over Shusha, the historic center of the region. Archbishop Pargev blessed the Armenian soldiers before the start of the operation. On the morning of 9 May 1992 Archbishop Pargev with a number of Armenians soldiers entered the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, where they prayed for the fallen soldiers. It was the first time since the 1920

Shusha massacre The Shusha massacre or Shushi massacre ( hy, Շուշիի ջարդեր, translit=Shushii jarder), also known as the Shusha pogrom, was the mass killing of the Armenian population of Shusha and the destruction of the Armenian half of the city in 1 ...

that a prayer was heard at the cathedral. Soon after the city was captured, restoration work began at Ghazanchetsots, which was used as an arsenal by the Azerbaijanis.

Second Karabakh War

When the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...

between Armenia and Azerbaijan began, Martirosyan made a public statement to the Armenian people, calling for strength and unity in the face of the war. During the hostilities, Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, the seat of Martirosyan's diocese, was shelled by Azerbaijani forces. The cathedral was struck twice by missiles in one hour, wounding two Russian journalists and significantly damaging the cathedral's roof. Martirosyan compared the shelling to actions of the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

and held a prayer in the damaged cathedral days later.

Health problems and retirement

Martirosyan suffered a heart attack in November 2020 and was transported to the United States for treatment. He recovered and returned to Armenia in December that year. On 21 January 2021, it was announced that Archbishop Pargev was retiring from the post of Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh, and instead would serve as Catholicos Karekin II's pontifical envoy-at-large. He was succeeded by Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, who previously held the post of spiritual leader of the

Armed Forces of Armenia The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...

. Archbishop Pargev stated in an interview that his retirement was due to his poor health.

Works and activities

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan has authored three books and a number of articles and essays. He holds a 1st dan-ranked black belt in shotokan

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

. He is the honorary president of the Shotokan Karate Federation of Armenia. In 2014 he was awarded the title " Hero of Artsakh", the highest honorary title of the

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...

References

External links

* * along with tens of soldiers at the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha on 9 May 1992 just after the Armenian forces captured the city from the Azerbaijanis {{DEFAULTSORT:Martirosyan, Pargev 1954 births Living people People from Sumgait Gevorgian Seminary alumni Armenian Apostolic Church in the Republic of Artsakh Diocese of Artsakh