Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan
Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh
● General Information
Born in 1962 in the village of Tsovategh, Artsakh. Baptismal name: Kamo.
From 1969 to 1979 - Local Secondary School.
From 1980 to 1987 - Studied at the Gevorgian Theological Seminary of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
From 1981 to 1983 - Served in the Soviet Army.
● Ecclesiastical Ranks and Ordination
1987 – Ordained to the Diaconate by His Eminence Archbishop Husik Santourian.
1988 – Ordained as a Celibate Priest by His Eminence Archbishop Husik Santourian.
1992 – Received the Four Degrees of Archimandrite from His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian. Thesis: "Hovsep Artsaghetsi: Defender of Orthodoxy."
2008 – Consecrated as a Bishop by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
● Tenure
1987–1988 – Supervisor of the Museum of the Mother Cathedral.
1989–1994 – Abbot of Amaras Monastery.
1994–1996 – Vicar General of the Diocese of Artsakh.
1996–1997 – Abbot of St. Hripsime Monastery.
1997–1999 – Spiritual Adviser to the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia.
1999–2001 – Abbot of St. Hripsime Monastery.
2001–2006 – Pastor of St. Nerses Shnorhali Church of the Diocese of Gougark.
2006–2007 – Vicar General of the Armenian Diocese of New Nakhichevan and Russia.
2007–2020 – Head Chaplain of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.
Since 2021 – Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh.
Since 2023 – Director of the Office for the Preservation of the Spiritual and Cultural Heritage of Artsakh of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
