His Eminence Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian Enters Eternal Rest
03.12.2003
It is with deep regret that the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin announces the death of His Eminence Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian. His Eminence entered his eternal rest on the evening of December 2, while in the United States. He died suddenly as a result of a heart attack.
His Eminence, being a member of the Brotherhood of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, had established his residency in recent years in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and provided his services to the Catholicosate of All Armenians and the Motherland.
Archbishop Mesrob's spiritual, cultural, and social activities were always highly regarded and appreciated in the Mother See. He brought a great benefit to the organization of the festivities surrounding the 1,700th Anniversary of Christianity as the State Religion of Armenia, where he served as the first Executive Secretary of the Committee. His literary accomplishments in the field of Armenology are widely respected.
His Eminence had recently completed compiling a major volume, entitled "The Etchmiadzin Chronicles", which he had dedicated to the 1,700th Anniversary of the Vision of Holy Etchmiadzin.
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and the entire class of clergy and faithful, deeply mourn the untimely death of Archbishop Mesrob, and pray for the repose of his soul.
Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin II, on behalf of the clergy and lay officials of the Pontificate of All Armenians, has expressed his condolences to His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.
As per the wishes of Archbishop Mesrob, he will be laid to rest in Antelias, Lebanon.
Blessed be the memory of the righteous.
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Biography of His Eminence Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian
His Eminence Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian was born on January 3, 1941 in Beirut, Lebanon and given the baptismal name Hrair. He received his elementary education in the St. Nshan Academy in Beirut, and in 1957 was admitted to the Seminary in Antelias.
In 1961 he graduated from Seminary and was ordained a celibate priest, and named Mesrob. From 1962 to 1963 he studied independently in Switzerland and the United States of America. In 1963, he received the rank of Archimandrite (Vardapet).
From 1964 to 1970, he worked in education, and lectured in Antelias, Lebanon; and Aleppo, Syria. He was also the editor of "Hask", the official monthly of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.
Fr. Mesrob departed for the United States in 1970, and studied theology, church history and liturgics at Princeton University in New Jersey, and received two Masters' Degrees.
From 1973 to 1977, he acted as the diocesan ordinary of Isfahan, New Julfa in Iran. In 1976 he received the rank of Senior Archimandrite, and in 1977 he was consecrated as a bishop by His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos Coadjutor of the Great House of Cilicia (later Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin I, of blessed memory).
Bishop Mesrob was elevated to the rank of Archbishop in 1983. From 1996 to 2000, He worked in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin as the Executive Secretary of the Committee for the 1,700th Anniversary of Christianity as the State Religion of Armenia.
He founded the "Mughni" periodical in 2001, printed in the Saint Gevork Monastery in Mughni. Archbishop Mesrob was the author of many books, pamphlets and articles. He was bestowed with the title of Honorary Doctor of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. His Eminence entered his eternal rest in the United States on December 2, 2003.
