Mikołaj Torosowicz (in Ukrainian: Миколай Торосович, Mykolai Torosovych; born 1605 in Lviv – October 24, 1681), was the first

Armenian Catholic 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 around the ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Biography

Torosowicz was born in Lviv in a wealthy Yakov Torosovich's Armenian apostolic merchant family. At that time, the

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

of Galicia were under ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the patriarch of the See of Echmiadzin, in

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, then under

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

rule. With religious vocation, he was sent by his parents to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. ncyklopedia Powszechna, 1867, p.388./ref> and was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1626 in Istanbul, and on 8 January 1627 Torosowicz was appointed bishop of Lviv of the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

. On October 24, 1630, Torosowicz made a profession of faith in a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

Catholic church of

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbreviation, abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catho ...

, and entered himself along with his diocese in communion with the

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. The union was confirmed by the

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on November 8 of the same year, and Torosowicz became the first Armenian Catholic archbishop of Lviv. On 22 May 1635 Torosowicz made a new confession of faith to the

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

in Rome, and was named Metropolitan of Lviv, with jurisdiction over all Armenians from Poland, Moldova and Wallachia. It was also he who led the

Theatines The Theatines, officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular (; abbreviated CR), is a Catholic order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa on 14 September 1524. Foundation The order wa ...

to Lviv. Torosowicz was named knight of the Order of St. Michael and the Order of Jesus and Mary. He died on October 24, 1681, at the age of 76.

Bibliography

* Samuel Orgelbrand, ed. (1867). ''Encyklopedia Powszechna'' (1st edition) (in Polish) 25. pp. 388–390. *

Sadok Barącz Sadok Barącz (, , 29 April 1814 in Stanislau, now Ivano-Frankivsk – 2 April 1892 in Pidkamin, now Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast) was a Galician religious leader, historian, folklorist, archivist, an Armenians, Arm ...

''Żywoty sławnych Ormian w Polsce''
(in Polish), Lvov, 1856.

References

External links

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/btorosow.html * http://m.pidruchniki.com/19720822/religiyeznavstvo/diyalnist_yepiskopa_torosovicha * http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=72173&dirids=1& * http://www.wiki.ormianie.pl/index.php/Mikołaj_Torosowicz {{DEFAULTSORT:Torosowicz 1605 births 1681 deaths Armenian Catholic archbishops of Lviv Bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Oriental Orthodoxy Clergy from Lviv People from Ruthenian Voivodeship 17th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops Polish people of Armenian descent

Biography

See also

Bibliography

References

External links