Vazgen I also Vazken I of Bucharest (), born Levon Garabed Baljian (; September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the

Catholicos of All Armenians The Catholicos of All Armenians () is the chief bishop and spiritual leader of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the worldwide Armenian diaspora. The Armenian Catholicos (plural Catholicoi) is also known as the Armenian ...

between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 39 years, the 4th longest reign in the history 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 ...

. A native of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, he began his career as a philosopher, before becoming a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

and a member of the local Armenian clergy. The leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church hierarchy in Romania, he became Catholicos in 1955, moving to

Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia ...

. Vazgen I led the Armenian Church during the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, and was the first Catholicos in newly independent Armenia.

Biography

Vazgen was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

to a family belonging to the Armenian-Romanian community. His father was a shoemaker and his mother was a schoolteacher. The young Levon Baljian did not initially pursue the Church as a profession, instead graduating from the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

's Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. After graduation, he became a philosopher and published a series of scholarly articles. As his interests began to shift from philosophy to theology, Baljian studied Armenian Apostolic Theology and Divinity in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece. He eventually gained the title of ''vardapet'', an ecclesiastical rank for learned preachers and teachers in the Armenian Apostolic Church roughly equivalent to receiving a doctorate in theology. In the 1940s, he became a bishop, and then the ''arajnord'' (leader) of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Romania. His rise through the hierarchy of the Church culminated in 1955 when, on September 30, 1955, he was elected Catholicos of All Armenians, becoming one of the youngest Catholicoi in the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He reigned until his death in 1994. In 1965, he attended the Conference of Addis Ababa, in order to strengthen ties to the other Miaphysite churches. During his long time as Catholicos, he managed to assert some independence for his church in face of the Soviet rule in the Armenian SSR, and lived to see

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

restored under Armenia's national government in 1991. From then on, he was busy renewing ancient Armenian churches and reviving institutions of the church. He saved a number of church treasures by establishing the

Alex Manoogian Alexander Manoogian (; June 28, 1901 – July 10, 1996) was an Armenian-American industrial engineer, businessman, and philanthropist who spent most of his career in Detroit, Michigan. He was the founder of the Masco Corporation, which in 1969 w ...

Museum of the Mother Church. Vazgen intensified contacts with the

Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

, with the aim of reuniting both wings of Armenian Christianity.

Vasily Grossman Vasily Semyonovich Grossman (; 12 December (29 November, Julian calendar) 1905 – 14 September 1964) was a Soviet writer and journalist. Born to a Jewish family in Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire, Grossman trained as a chemical engine ...

wrote that he sensed "nothing fanatical" about Vazgen, describing him as "intelligent, educated, and worldly," with "an enlightened worldliness" being "his most striking quality." He found him to be "clearly not a great man" and "unremarkable." He died at his residence in Yerevan on August 18, 1994, after a long illness from cancer.

Gallery

File:Erevan - Meeting of Catholicos of Armenia & Georgia - October 1972.jpg, Meeting of Vazgen I and

David V David V ( ka, დავით V, tr; 1113 — 1155), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the king ('' mepe'') of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1154 until his death in 1155. Life David was born around 1113 and was the eldest son of Prince Demetrius and ...

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia ( ka, სრულიად საქართველოს კათოლიკოს პატრიარქი) is the Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi and the head of Georgian Orthodox Church. The of ...

, Yerevan, October 1972. File:Architectural-Commission-of-the-Mother-See-(1970-1988).jpg, Architectural Commission of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin (1970–1988). First row from left:

Varazdat Harutyunyan Varazdat Harutyunyan (also Harutiunian, ; 29 November 1909 in Van, Turkey, Van – 20 March 2008 in Yerevan) was an Armenian academic, architect and writer. Biography Harutyunyan was born in the Ottoman Empire, in the town of Van, Turkey, ...

, Vazgen I, K. Altunyan Second row from left:

Baghdasar Arzoumanian Baghdasar Arzoumanian (; January 1, 1916 – November 19, 2001) was an Armenian architect and designer based in Yerevan, Armenia. He designed a large body of civil and religious buildings as well as many smaller works. Education and background ...

, H. Babakhanian,

Grigor Khanjyan Grigor Khanjyan (; 29 November 1926 – 19 April 2000) was a Soviet and Armenian artist, painter, and illustrator. He is most notable for his illustrations of historical novels and poems, and murals and tapestries on historical topics. In 1983 Kha ...

, A. Galikyan, M. Hovhannisyan File:ArmenianStamps-046.jpg, Vazgen I on an Armenian postage stamp File:Vazgen First Bust, Vanadzor (2).jpg, Statue in front of Vazgen I Elementary School in

Vanadzor Vanadzor (, ) is an urban municipal community and the third largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the city h ...

File:Vazgen Arajin 2.JPG, Statue in a park in Echmiadzin File:VazgenItomb.jpg, Vazgen I's

tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

Awards

National Hero of Armenia National Hero of Armenia () is the highest title in Armenia. The law on the title was signed by President Levon Ter-Petrosyan on 22 April 1994. It is awarded "for outstanding services of national importance to the Republic of Armenia in defense ...

(28.07.1994) — for exceptional services in preserving and enhancing national and spiritual values *

Order of the Red Banner of Labor The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(09.19.1988) — for peacekeeping activities and in connection with the eightieth anniversary of his birth *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(09.19.1978) — for patriotic activities in defense of peace and in connection with the seventieth anniversary of his birth *

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

(09.19.1968) — for great patriotic activity in defense of peace and in connection with the sixtieth anniversary of his birth * Order of the Star of the Romanian Socialist Republic (1952) * Gold Peace Medal named after Frederic Joliot-Curie (1962) – for his great contribution to the promotion of peace * Gold Medal of the Soviet Peace Committee (1968)

References

External links

Audio recording with Vazgen I
in the Online Archive of the

Österreichische Mediathek The Österreichische Mediathek ("Austrian Mediatheque") is the Austrian archive for sound recordings and videos on cultural and contemporary history. It was founded in 1960 as Österreichische Phonothek (Austrian Phonothek) by the Ministry of Educ ...

(Interview in German and Armenian). Retrieved 18 September 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vazgen 01 1908 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Romanian philosophers Clergy from Bucharest University of Bucharest alumni National Hero of Armenia Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Catholicoi of Armenia 20th-century Armenian philosophers Romanian bishops Romanian people of Armenian descent Romanian Oriental Orthodox Christians Romanian emigrants to the Soviet Union Deaths from cancer in Armenia