Khrimian
Hayrig remains one of the most popular names in the history of the
Armenian Church, as shown by the use of the endearing name
hayrig
(“papa”) along his name.
Mgrdich
Khrimian was born in the Aikestan quarter of Van on April 4, 1820. He
lost his father at an early age and was brought up by his uncle, a
merchant. He was educated at the parochial schools of the islands of Lim
and Gduts in Lake Van and the monastery of Varak, where he studied
Classical Armenian. In 1842, after returning to Van, he embarked on a
journey across the region and made a pilgrimage to Holy Etchmiadzin.
From
1844 to 1846, Khrimian lived in Constantinople, where he made
connections with Armenian intellectuals. In 1846 he returned to Van and
married Mariam Sevikian. In 1847 he visited Persia and the Russian
Caucasus, and sojourned in Alexandropol (today Gyumri) for six months.
He moved again to Constantinople and lived there until 1853, teaching at
an all-girl school in the quarter of Hasköy. He published his first
books in 1850 and 1851.
Khrimian
returned to Van in 1853, but finding that his mother, wife, and
daughter had all died, he decided to enter the Armenian Church. He was
ordained
vartabed
at
the Cathedral of Aghtamar in 1854 and appointed dean of a church in
Scutari, near Constantinople, a year later. He started publishing the
periodical
Artsiv Vaspurakan.
He
returned to Van in 1857 and established a seminary at the monastery of
Varak. He founded a publishing house there and resumed the publication
of
Artsiv Vaspurakan
(1859-1864). In
1862 he was appointed abbot of the famous monastery of Surp Garabed
near Mush. He was instrumental in the foundation of a school and a
journal there, called
Artsvik Tarono,
and transformed the monastery into a flourishing center. In those years, he earned the name of
Hayrig.
Ordained
as a bishop in Etchmiadzin (1868), Khrimian was elected Armenian
Patriarch of Constantinople in September 1869. He cleared the
patriarchate's debt and sought to increase the provincial representation
in the Armenian National Assembly. He presented a detailed report to
the Ottoman government documenting instances of oppression, persecution,
and miscarriage of justice in the Armenian provinces. He used the
position to advance the interests and conditions of Armenians in the
provinces.
His
outspokenness annoyed not only the Ottoman authorities, but some of the
Armenian wealthy elite as well. The government compelled him to resign
in 1873. Afterwards, Khrimian dedicated his time to literary pursuits
until 1878 (he published four books from 1876-1878), when he led the
Armenian delegation at the Congress of Berlin. The delegation's
memorandum to the great powers concerning the implementation of reforms
in the Armenian provinces was dismissed, and the Treaty of Berlin,
signed in July 1878, failed to force the Ottoman government to implement
real reforms.
After
returning to Constantinople, Khrimian delivered a well-known sermon in
which he called Armenians to use arms to win over their rights. He told
his flock that Armenians, unlike the Christians in the Balkans, had not
won autonomy because “no Armenian blood had been shed in the cause of
freedom.” Famous for its allegories, such as the analogy of a ladle and
cauldron with the sword and freedom, the sermon is considered one of the
forerunners of the Armenian revolutionary movement.
After
his return from Europe, Khrimian was appointed Prelate of Van in 1879.
He opened new schools, including the first agricultural school in
Armenian lands. In the 1880s he supported the Armenian secret societies
devoted to the cause of national liberation. The Ottoman government,
which looked unfavorably on his activities, suspended him in 1885 and
had him sent back to Constantinople. Following the Kum Kapu
demonstration of July 15, 1890, four representatives of the Armenian
National Assembly, including Khrimian, issued a report criticizing the
government for the treatment of the Armenian peasantry. Khrimian was
exiled to Jerusalem in December 1890 and lived in the St. James
monastery of the city’s Armenian Quarter.
On
May 5, 1892, Khrimian was unanimously elected Catholicos of All
Armenians. Sultan Abdul Hamid II initially did not allow him to travel
to Etchmiadzin. He was granted permission to travel, only if he did not
set foot in Turkey, after Russian emperor Alexander III’s request. He
was finally enthroned as Catholicos Mgrdich I in September 1893. He had
his Ottoman citizenship revoked and became a Russian subject. During the
Hamidian massacres of 1894–96, Khrimian provided material assistance to
the Armenian refugees. He also implemented the renovation of many
ancient monasteries and churches. He collaborated with the Armenian
Revolution Federation to organize mass demonstrations against the June
1903 edict of the Russian government that closed down Armenian schools
and confiscated the properties of the Armenian Church. Popular
resistance led to the revocation of the edict in August 1905.
Catholicos
Khrimian remained active until the end of his life, on October 29,
1907. He was buried in the courtyard of Holy Etchmiadzin. He was revered
for his progressive and nationalist views. A school in Yerevan founded
by him in 1906 and renamed for the 26 Baku Commissars during the Soviet
period was renamed after Khrimian in 1989. A school in Buenos Aires
(Argentina) has carried his name since 1930.
