Mkhitar Sebastatsi (),

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

: Mekhitar of Sebaste, (17 February 1676 – 27 April 1749) was an Armenian

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

monk, scholar and theologian who founded the

Mekhitarist Order The Mechitarists, officially the Benedictine Congregation of the Mechitarists (), is an Armenian Catholic monastic order of pontifical right for men founded in 1701 by Mekhitar of Sebaste. Members use the postnominal abbreviation CAM. The orde ...

, which has been based on San Lazzaro island near

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

since 1717. The Armenian historian

Stepanos Nazarian Stepanos Nazarian or Nazariants (, , – ) was a Russian Armenian publisher, enlightener, literary historian and Orientalist. Biography Stepanos Nazarian was born in 1812 into the family of a priest who had moved to Tiflis (modern-day Tbilis ...

described him as the "second

Mesrop Mashtots Mesrop Mashtots (; , ' 362February 17, 440 AD) was an Armenians, Armenian Linguistics, linguist, composer, Christian theology, theologian, Politician, statesman, and Hymnology, hymnologist. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic C ...

". The cause for his

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

was opened after his death; as such, he is termed a

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

Life

Early life

He was born Manug in Sivas Eyalet (now

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

) in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

on 17 February 1676, the son of a prosperous merchant Bedros eterand his wife Sharistan. His parents gave him a good education to prepare him to assume the family business. Instead, from an early age, he wanted to become a monk. Refused permission for this, he found a young companion to flee to the mountains where they might live as hermits. Quickly found by his parents he was returned home. As a result of this, the bishop who was abbot of the nearby Monastery of Surp Nshan (Holy Cross) conferred

minor orders In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders— acolyt ...

on the boy so that he might assist at the liturgical services of the monastery. Still refused permission to enter the monastery by his parents, he began to frequent a neighboring family which consisted of a mother and her two daughters who lived a monastic form of life in their home, which they shared with an elderly priest, who then taught him about the Divine Office. At the age of fifteen, Manug finally received the permission he had long sought from his family and he entered the nearby monastery, where he was quickly

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

. It was at this point that he changed his name to the one he is now known by, Mekhitar (''The Consoler'').

Monk

After his admittance to monastic life, Mekhitar began to see that the state of monastic life was extremely low after the devastating destruction of the Armenian monasteries in previous centuries. He began to seek out a source of true learning of the spiritual life, being taken to various monasteries by several traveling religious scholars who promised to teach him what he sought if he would serve them. During this period, he came into contact with members of

religious orders who were active in Armenia. Learning about Catholicism, he came to feel that

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

would be the best place to do the theological studies he had long sought. Finally, upon reaching

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, he placed himself under the

spiritual direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

of a

Jesuit priest The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, who gave him a letter of introduction to the

Congregation of the Propaganda The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregatio ...

. He determined to set out for there, but received many setbacks of both health and the rejection of those Armenian monks and bishops along the way who rejected Western doctrines. Finally he was forced to return to his home town, walking barefoot, though he was suffering from

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...

. Slowly regaining his health there, in 1696 he was ordained a priest by the abbot of Holy Cross Monastery.

Founder

Inspired by the idea of creating a

religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...

of preachers dedicated to raising the educational and spiritual level of the

Armenian people 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 ...

, based on the models of the Western Church, Mekhitar founded in 1701 in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

what would become known after his death as the Mekhitarist Order. Two years later, escaping persecution by the Ottoman authorities, the order moved to Modon in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

, then known as the

Morea Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...

, which was a Venetian possession. In 1715, the order moved to the Island of

San Lazzaro degli Armeni San Lazzaro degli Armeni (, "Saint Lazarus of the Armenians"; sometimes called Saint Lazarus Island in English; ) is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon which has been home to the monastery of the Mekhitarists, an Armenian Catholic congregati ...

at the invitation of the

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. Mekhitar built up the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

on the island and the order which sent out priests to serve Armenian communities in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Mekhitar died at the monastery on 27 April 1749 and is buried in the monastery church.

Legacy

Malachia Ormanian Malachia Ormanian (; 11 February 1841 – 19 November 1918) was the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople from 1896 to 1908. He was also a theologian, historian, and philologist. Life Boghos Ormanian (baptismal name), originated from an Armenians, ...

, a conservative Armenian Apostolic scholar and Patriarch of Constantinople, wrote highly of Mkhitar Sebastatsi, calling him an "ecclesiastic of progressive and liberal views." Ormanian wrote:

Veneration

The cause for Mekhitar's

, which would normally have been able to start fifty years after his death was disrupted by the events of the invasion of Italy by the armies of Revolutionary France under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, in the course of which almost all monasteries were closed. It was begun about 1895 under the

Patriarch of Venice The Patriarch of Venice (; ) is the ordinary of the Patriarchate of Venice. The bishop is one of only four patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. The other three are the Patriarch of Lisbon, the Patriarch of the East Indies an ...

, Giuseppe Sarto. In 1914, after his election as

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

, the cause was formally accepted by

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

References

Bibliography

*Congregazione Mechitaristica - Vita del fondatore (1819) In: ''Compendiose notizie sulla Congregazione de' Monaci Armeni Mechitaristi di Venezia nell'Isola di S. Lazzaro''. Tipografia di suddetta Isola. p. 128 (text in Italian and Armenian) *
Mechitar
(1911) ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'', p
102
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mkhitar 1676 births 1749 deaths People from Sivas Armenian Eastern Catholic priests Armenian lexicographers Catholic Church and minority language rights Mekhitarists Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Italy Founders of Eastern Catholic religious communities Eastern Catholic Servants of God 17th-century venerated Christians 18th-century venerated Christians Venerated Eastern Catholics Catholics from Armenia