Eghiazar () was the

Catholicos A catholicos (plural: catholicoi) is 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 Greek ( ...

and head of Caucasian Albanian Church in the late 7th century.

Election

Attested in ''

The History of the Country of Albania ''The History of the Caucasian Albanians'' (or ''The History of the World of Aghvank''; ) by Movses Kaghankatvatsi is a history of eastern territories of Armenia (Nagorno-Karabakh and Utik), as well as other territories in Southeastern Caucasus us ...

'', he was mentioned as a

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 ...

of Shaki during tenure of his predecessor Ukhtanes. Although

Mkhitar Gosh Mkhitar Gosh ( 1130–1213) was an Armenian scholar, writer, public figure, thinker, and priest. He was one of the representatives of the Armenian Renaissance. Biography He was born in the city of Gandzak. He got his early education from publi ...

and

Kirakos Gandzaketsi Kirakos Gandzaketsi (; c. 1200/1202–1271) was an Armenian historian of the 13th century S. Peter Cowe. Kirakos Ganjakec'i or Arewelc'i // Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History / Edited by David Thomas & Alex Mallet. — BRILL, 2 ...

give his tenure for 6 years and death date as 688, thus suggesting his election in 682, Dowsett argued against this, suggesting early 680 instead.

Tenure

His tenure started during reign of

Javanshir Juansher was the Mihranid prince of Caucasian Albania, ruling the principality from 637 to 669. He was the son and successor of Varaz Grigor (). During his reign, Juansher changed his allegiance thrice. He started out as a subject to the Sasan ...

as a vassal of

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...

, a period of relative political stability but also arrival of Muslims in Albania. Certain Albanian noble families were beginning to forge intermarriage bonds with Muslim nobles. He was described by Movses Kalankatuatsi as an equal to apostles 'in word and deed' and was active in evangelizing

North Caucasian Huns The Khuni, Huni or Chuni were a people of the North Caucasus during late antiquity. They have sometimes been referred to as the North Caucasian Huns and are often assumed to be related to the Huns who later entered Eastern Europe. However, the ethn ...

, sending

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

to work among them. After Javanshir's death and succession of

Varaz-Tiridates I Varaz Trdat, was the Mihranid king of Caucasian Albania from 670 to 705. Тревер К. В. Очерки по истории и культуре Кавказской Албании IV в. до н. э. — VII в. н. э.. — М.—Л.: Изда� ...

, he was instrumental in forging peace between Alp Iluetuer and Varaz. He died in 688 and succeeded by Nerses Bakur.

Establishing St.Elisaeus cult

Eghiazar is considered by some Armenian researchers as the initiator of St.Elisæus of Albania legend. According to this theory, Eghiazar boosted the cult of Elisaeus in order to put forward the claim that Albanian Church was independent of

Armenian Church 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 ...

. As such, Eghiazar promoted

Giš The cuneiform giš sign, (also common for is, iṣ, and iz), is a common, multi-use sign, in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', the Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts. It also has a major usage as a sumerogram, GIŠ, (capital letter (majuscul ...

(near his bishopric in Shaki) and connected it with Elisaeus as well. This claim put establishment of Albanian Christianity way before activities of Gregory the Enlightener.

References

Sources

* {{Cite book , last=Dasxuranci , first=Movses , title=The History of the Caucasian Albanians , publisher=

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, year=1961 , location=

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, translator-last=Dowsett , translator-first=Charles , author-link=Movses Kaghankatvatsi , translator-link=Charles Dowsett Church of Caucasian Albania 7th-century Asian people 688 deaths