Simeon I of Yerevan

Simeon I of Yerevan (; 1710–1780), also known as Simeon Yerevantsi, served as the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1763 and 1780.

Before his pontificate, he served as a representative of Etchmiadzin in Constantinople, New Julfa, and Madras. After becoming catholicos in 1763, he took measures to reassert Etchmiadzin's primacy over other sees of the Armenian church. According to historian Rouben Paul Adalian, the pontificate of Simeon I of Yerevan marked the reemergence of Etchmiadzin (present-day Vagharshapat) as a "truly important center of Armenian national affairs". In 1771, he founded the first printing press in Armenia at Etchmiadzin Cathedral as a part of his efforts to extend Etchmiadzin's authority. He also acted against the spread of Catholicism among Armenians, using methods that the historian Leo called "inquisitorial". He also polemicized against Catholics in his written works.

Simeon opposed the activities of Joseph Emin and Shahamir Shahamirian, two Armenians from India who envisioned the reestablishment of an independent Armenian state. However, he was not against Armenia coming under the rule of a Christian power. For that reason, he established relations with the court of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. He sent a letter to Catherine in 1766, and in 1768 the Empress restored Etchmiadzin's authority over the Russian diocese of the Armenian Church.

Simeon I is the author of religious, philosophical, and historical works. Notable among these is the work , which was written as a part of his efforts to increase Etchmiadzin's authority. In another one of his works, he asserts the role of the Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin "as the sole spiritual sole spiritual head or representative of the [Armenian] nation." He also added to and reformed the calendar of the Armenian church, seeking to create uniformity in church rituals and ceremonies.

Biography Simeon I was born in 1710 in Yerevan, then under Safavid Iranian rule. A genealogical chart apparently made by Simeon's nephew lists the catholicos's birth name as Khudabashkh; however, based on another contemporary source, historian Giut Aghaniants writes that his birth name was in fact Simeon or Simon, while Khudabashkh may have been a nickname. According to his contemporaries and 19th-century sources, his family was of noble origin. He received his education at the monastic school in Etchmiadzin, where he studied with his predecessor as Catholicos, , and eventually joined the teaching staff. As a legate of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, he travelled to Istanbul, New Julfa and Madras, the last of which was an important center of Armenian intellectual activity at the time.

He was elected Catholicos at Etchmiadzin in 1763. At the time, due to the remoteness of Etchmiadzin, which was located in a frontier province of Iran, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople had become the most important see of the Armenian Church. There was also an Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and catholicosates in Sis (in Cilicia), Aghtamar (an island in Lake Van), and Gandzasar (in Karabakh), which challenged Etchmiadzin's authority. Simeon took active efforts in order to increase the role of the See of Etchmiadzin and reassert its primacy over the other sees. He created a new office, that of vice-Catholicos, who would sit in Constantinople and oversee the Armenian Patriarch. In 1764, he appointed Abraham Astapattsi to Constantinople, which provoked backlash from the local Armenian amiras (wealthy Ottoman Armenian elites), who opposed Etchmiadzin's centralizing policies. As a part of his efforts to extend Etchmiadzin's influence, Simeon established a printing press in 1771, the very first on the territory of historical Armenia. Four years later he established a paper factory to meet the growing needs and costs of the printing press. He furthermore improved the monastic school, which would become a major center of theological learning in the 19th century.

Catholicos Simeon was particularly hostile towards Armenian Catholics and sought to prevent the spread of Catholicism among Armenians, frequently and harshly criticizing them in his written works. The historian Leo describes Simeon's anti-Catholic measures:

Simeon was opposed to the activities of Shahamir Shahamirian and Joseph Emin, two Armenians from India who envisioned the reestablishment of an independent Armenian state. Emin alleges in his autobiography that Simeon urged Heraclius II of Georgia to expel Emin from his kingdom, but in his letter to Heraclius dated 25 March 1764 Simeon only warns the king about the reckless behavior of Emin's followers towards the local Muslims and advises him to tell Emin to refrain from making further plans. According to historian Pavel Chobanyan, Heraclius used Simeon's letter as an excuse to expel Emin, whom he already mistrusted. Chobanyan states that Simeon was not opposed to Emin's goals but to his methods, which he feared would cause destructive reprisals against Armenians by the Ottoman state; he also reserved for himself the right to make plans regarding Armenians' political future. Simeon was not against Armenia coming under the rule of a Christian power. For that reason, he established relations with the court of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. In 1766, he sent a letter addressed to Catherine and her son Paul. In 1768, Catherine restored Etchmiadzin's authority over the Russian diocese of the Armenian Church and promised that all Armenians, especially those living within the Russian Empire's borders, would enjoy her protection. Simeon authored a special prayer in Catherine's honor, which was thereafter recited in Armenian churches for about 150 years.

Simeon also reacted negatively to Shahamir Shahamirian and his collaborator Mikayel Khojajanian's founding of a printing press in Madras and their program for the creation of an Armenian state. In 1772/1773, the Madras printing press published (New book called Exhortation), a text which calls on Armenians to restore their independence by means of armed struggle. Shahamirian and Khojajanian expected to receive Simeon's approval for their plans and sent him two copies of , along with an early version of Snare of Glory (, a draft constitution for a future Armenian state) and various suggestions to prepare for an Armenian revolt. When the book arrived in 1776, Simeon wrote back to Shahamirian ordering him to close down the printing press and burn all copies of the book, threatening him with excommunication. He also excommunicated Movses Baghramian, whom Simeon took to be the true author of . Shahamirian complied with Simeon's demands and did not publish another work until after the Catholicos's death. According to historian Sebouh Aslanian, Simeon not only feared the destructive consequences of rebellion but also opposed the proposals for reducing Church authority in the works of the Madras press.

In 1765 and 1769, Heraclius II of Georgia invaded the Erivan (Yerevan) Khanate in response to Hoseyn Ali Khan's attempts to terminate payment of tribute. Both times, bloodshed was avoided through Simeon's mediation, and Heraclius accepted the restoration of the khanate's tributary status. Heraclius campaigned against the khan of Erivan again in 1778 and 1779, this time forcibly displacing the inhabitants of eight Armenian villages and resettling them in Georgia.

Simeon I died on 26 July 1780, on the holiday of Vardavar. He is buried in the southern side of the narthex of Saint Gayane Church. In accordance with his wishes, his former student Ghukas Karnetsi was elected his successor as Catholicos.

Works Simeon I is the author of religious, philosophical, and historical works. His historical work was written as a part of his efforts to increase Etchmiadzin's authority. The book summarizes the history of the Armenian Church, gives the years of the reigns of the Armenian catholicoi, and describes the harm caused by anti-catholicosates and patriarchates, among other topics. The book also lists the dioceses of the Armenian Church, identifying their borders, settlements, the means of collecting tithes, and stating which dioceses have their own primates and which pay taxes tithes directly to Etchmiadzin. He enumerates the rights and privileges of the Catholicos, and outlines the limited rights of the catholicoi of Gandzasar (also known as the catholicos of Aghvank/Caucasian Albania, in Karabakh), Aghtamar, and Cilicia. In Chapters 20–24, he cites the decrees granted to the Armenian Church by Turkish and Iranian rulers. The final chapter gives an account of the 21 monasteries located in the Erivan Khanate (where Etchmiadzin was located).

Simeon's theological work (A book called fulfillment of a pledge, 1779) asserts the role of the Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin "as the sole spiritual head or representative of the [Armenian] nation." Simeon's conception of the Catholicos's authority has been characterized as one of "divine right"; according to Simeon, the catholicoi of Etchmiadzin inherited the right to represent the nation from Gregory the Illuminator, who converted Armenia to Christianity in the 4th century. He discusses the state of dispersion of the Armenian people, presenting it as a sign of their being "chosen" by God; he states that this dispersion prepared the way for the "Promised Land," by which he meant both the land of Armenia and the kingdom of God, which could be achieved only through Providence. In its conclusion, he polemicizes against Catholic Armenians.

Simeon's other works include philosophical treatises, all in manuscript form: (Brief explications of Porphyry), (Interpretation of Proclus), (Explications of foreign texts). He also wrote sermons, taghs (a genre of Armenian song) and prayers in which he laments the state of the Armenian people (, 1772). He added to and reformed the calendar of the Armenian church (published in two volumes in 1774), seeking to create uniformity in church rituals and ceremonies. It entered use in 1777.