Komitas Aghtsetsi


Komitas I Aghtsetsi, also known as Komitas the Builder, was the Catholicos of Armenia from 613 until his death in 628. He oversaw several building projects, among which were the complete renovation of Etchmiadzin Cathedral; the construction of Saint Hripsime Church; and the building of the Church of Saint Gregory in Dvin. He is also remembered for his hymn writing and his participation in the theological debates of the time.

Biography

Komitas was born in the village of Aghtsk in Sasanian-ruled Armenia. Before becoming Catholicos, he served as the bishop of Taron. In 612/613, he participated in the council assembled by the Sasanian king Khosrow II to discuss the catholicosate of the Church of the East. There he presented the statement of faith of the Armenian Church, which condemned the Council of Chalcedon and Nestorianism. He returned to Armenia from the council as Catholicos. Komitas was a vociferous participant in doctrinal disputes. He participated in the compilation of the Knik havato, a collection of excerpts from the works of Armenian and non-Armenian church fathers in defense of the position of the Armenian Church; it was modeled on Timothy II of Alexandria's work Against the Council of Chalcedon.  
Catholicos Komitas oversaw several building projects, among which were the complete renovation of Etchmiadzin Cathedral; the construction of Saint Hripsime Church on the site of an existing shrine; and the building of the Church of Saint Gregory in Dvin. A number of scholars maintain that Komitas may have also been the architect of Saint Hripsime Church.
A poet and musician, Komitas I contributed to the hymnography of the Armenian Church. His most famous work is the sharakan dedicated to the martyr Hripsime and her companions, known by its incipit "Andzink nvirealk siroyn Kristosi". This hymn was composed on the occasion of the consecration of Saint Hripsime Church. It is a long lyric poem, consisting of thirty-six stanzas. It was the first Armenian hymn to use the meter and structure of the Byzantine kontakion. It makes use of an abecedarius and is written in accentual verse; the latter is rare in Armenian hymnography. The abecedarius is an old poetical convention; according to Hacikyan et al., Komitas must have adopted it from the Book of Psalms. "Andzink nvirealk siroyn Kristosi" served as a model for later Armenian hymns. Hacikyan et al. write that its "exception poetic nature and lyrical character opened a new era in Armenian spiritual literature.

Works

  • . Reprinted under the title Le sceau de la foi, Lisbon, 1974.
  • . English translation: .