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Pargev ArchbishopHead of the Diocese of Artsakh
Rating: 1.94, visits: 15522 (today: 12)
Birthdate: 1954
Birthplace: Sumgait, Azerbaijan
Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan
Beginning from 1989, the Diocese of Artsakh has been headed by His Beatitude Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan.
Archbishop Pargev was born Gurgen Martirosyan, in the city of Sumgait, Soviet Azerbaijan. He hails from an Armenian family with roots in Northern Artsakh’s renowned town of Chardakhly. Located in Armenia’s historical county of Gardman, Chardakhly is known primarily for giving Armenians top military talent, including Hovhannes Baghramian (Marshal of the Soviet Union) and Hamazasp Babajanian (Marshal of the USSR ’s Armored Forces).
In 1971, Pargev Martirosyan graduated from a Yerevan mathematical school; in 1971-1976 he studied at the Yerevan Polytechnic University and V. Brusov Institute for Foreign Languages. In 1980, he was admitted to the Echmiadzin Seminary, and in 1983, after completing training at theological college, was ordained a deacon. After his graduation from the Seminary in 1984, Father Pargev assumed a post at the Mother See’s Treasury (Gandzasaran). In 1985, he assumed monastic orders and was sent to study at the Leningrad Theological Academy, in Russia.
In 1986, Father Pargev returned to Armenia and, after his consecration as archimandrite (called vardapet, Armenian: վարդապետ), was appointed as chief tutor of the Echmiadzin Seminary. In 1987, Father Pargev earned his doctoral degree in theology from the Leningrad Theological Academy. In the same year, he was appointed as Prior of the St. Echmiadzin’s historical Temple of St. Hripsimeh (built in 618 AD).
In November 1988, Father Pargev was bestowed upon the rank of Bishop. In June 1999, Bishop Pargev was promoted to the rank of the Archbishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan is the author of three books and numerous articles.
Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan is well known to international human rights activists. One of them is the Baroness Caroline Cox of Queensbury, a cross-bench member of the British House of Lords, and a world-renowned campaigner for many global humanitarian causes. Caroline Cox has been a champion of Nagorno Karabakh’s quest for freedom, independence and Christian revival, beginning from 1991. Here is how Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan is depicted in her book Cox's Book of Modern Saints and Martyrs published in 2006 in London, UK. Baroness Cox writes:
“During my second visit [to Nagorno Karabakh — aut.] in January 1992, I was in Stepanakert when Bishop’s Martirosyan’s house received a direct hit from a large bomb. He had been in bed (the only place, in those bitter days, where anyone could be warm, with temperatures at minus 20, and no electricity to give any heat or light). But as soon as the shelling began, he immediately got up to pray. Within one minute, the bomb hit his house – and a large concrete slab fell directly onto the bed where he had been sleeping. There was a case of a man whose life was literally saved by prayer! Bishop Pargev Martirosyan, primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is a man of considerable intellect, substance and humanity, as well a man of faith. … When I visited the bishop in the ruins of his home, I asked if he would like to give a message to the rest of the world or to fellow Christians. He replied: “Our nation has again begun to find its faith [after 70 years of Soviet communism] and is praying in churches, in cellars, and on the field of battle, defending its life and the life of those who are near and dear. It is not only the perpetrators of crime and evil who commit sin, but also those who stand by—seeing and knowing—but who do not condemn it or try to avert it. Blessed as peacemakers for they will be called sons of God. We do not hate—we believe in God. If we want God’s victory, we must love. Even if there are demonic forces at work, not only in this conflict, but in other parts of the world, we must still love—we must always love. (Source: Butcher, Catherine. Cox's Book of Modern Saints and Martyrs. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006, pp. 100-101)
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published: 2006-01-01 00:00:00
last updated:2011-04-19 17:17:33
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