Khoren I of Armenia

Catholicos

Khoren I Muradbekian
Խորեն Ա Մուրադբեկյան
Catholicos of All Armenians
ChurchArmenian Apostolic Church
SeeMother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
Elected12 November 1932[1]
Installed13 November 1932[1]
Term ended5/6 April 1938
PredecessorGevorg V
SuccessorGevorg VI
Previous post(s)Bishop of Yerevan (1910–24)
Personal details
Born
Aleksandr Muradbekian

(1873-12-08)8 December 1873
Tiflis, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire
DiedApril 6, 1938(1938-04-06) (aged 64)
Pontifical Residence, Vagharshapat, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
BuriedEtchmiadzin Cathedral (since 1996)
Saint Gayane Church (1938–1996)
NationalityArmenian
OccupationPriest, educator

Khoren I Muradbekian (Armenian: Խորեն Ա Մուրադբեկյան; December 8, 1873 – April 5/6, 1938) was an Armenian Apostolic religious figure who served as Catholicos of All Armenians from 1932 until his murder in 1938. He previously served as locum tenens, between 1923 and 1932, in the latter years of and after the death of Catholicos Gevorg V, and bishop of Yerevan from 1910 to 1924.

Khoren I died in mysterious circumstances at the Pontifical Residence in Etchmiadzin. The Armenian Church and most historians believe he was murdered by the NKVD, the Soviet secret police. He was reburied at the courtyard of Etchmiadzin Cathedral in 1996, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, next to other Catholicoi. The Armenian Church considers him a martyr.[2]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ysu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Editorial (2008). "Հուշ-երեկո' նվիրված Խորեն Ա Ամենայն Հայոց Կաթողիկոսին". Etchmiadzin. 64 (4): 127–128.