Minas Amdetsi

Born around 1630, in Amida , in the family of Arakel and Hripsime. At an early age lost his mother. Educated at the local Bishop Marcos, to whom he subsequently dedicated a laudatory poem.
In 1655 he graduated and received the title of warden . A year later he went to Urfa , where he was engaged in preaching and was a great success.
In 1664 he went to Evdokia , where he was ordained a bishop (1666). According to eyewitnesses, from this period he was one of the close associates of Catholicos Egiazar I and played an important role in church matters.
In 1673, he lost his father and was forced to return home, but soon he again left for Urfa.
In 1681 he went on a trip with Catholicos Egiazar and, at the insistence of the latter, began writing his “Diary”.
In 1686–88 he was the bishop of Eudoxia. Copies of a number of manuscripts rewritten and ordered by him during this period have reached us, among which the manuscripts of The Chronicle by Samuel Anetsi and the Sudebnik of Mkhitar Gosh of 1687 are of particular value.
In 1690 became the Jerusalem Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church .
In 1691 he ordered to rewrite the Book of Mournful Hymns by Grigor Narekatsi .
In 1696 he left his post in Jerusalem and went to Echmiadzin .
In 1698 he went to Constantinople , then to Jerusalem, where he again occupied the post of patriarch.
In 1701, for the first time, he published the full edition of the Book of Mournful Hymns, by Grigor Narekatsi, as well as his panegyrics .
In 1702, as a result of the internal struggle, the patriarchal throne was lost in favor of Avetik Evdokatsi.
In early 1704, the patriarchal throne regained and reigned until his death on November 24 (December 5) of the same year.

In addition to rewriting manuscripts, he wrote historical works and poems. The biography of Minas Amdetsi briefly touched upon M. Chamchyan in his “History of Armenia” (1784), however, S. Savalanyants was the first to study his work and activities in his book “The History of Jerusalem” (1872). Amdetsi’s detailed biography, his poems, description and critical analysis of historical works were published by N. Akinian in 1964.

"The Genealogy of the Armenian Kings"

Original title : "աանութիւն թագաւորացն Հայոց"
Written in 1698. It is a chronographic list of Armenian , Byzantine and Roman rulers, with a few comments. The presentation begins with the legendary progenitor of Armenians Hayk and his offspring, then Armenian kings are listed up to Levon VI , the Roman and Byzantine emperors are listed in the second part. The initial part is based on Movses Khorenatsi ’s “History of Armenia”. No special historical value. Published already in 1735 in Constantinople. In 1870 a second edition was published in Echmiadzin.

Diary

Original title : "Օրագրութիւն"
Manuscripts : Matenadaran , No. 1316
Written in the years 1680-1704, mainly during the travels of Minas. Different parts of the book were written in Jerualim, Constantinople, Echmiadzin, Tokhat , Erzrum , Aleppo , etc. It contains, in addition to autobiographical data, important topographical material and reliable information about the Armenian realities of the era and the socio-political situation in the region. Not published yet.

“Letter to Chuaphan (?)”

Original title : "ուղթ առ Ճուապխան"
Manuscripts : Library of the Venice Mkhitaristov , No. 31 (p. 1240)
Written in 1702.

Poems

• “A word of praise to Marcos vardapetu” ( Armenian
• “Blessings” ( Armenian Աւրհնութիւնք ) - 9 poetic blessings, for a total of 63 stanzas.
• “Praise to the Fathers” ( Armenian Վարդապետաց գովասանք ) - 41 stanzas.
• “Catholicos Hakob from the servant of Minas” ( Armenian ակոբ կաթուղիկոսին ծառայ Մինասս ) - 28 stanzas, acrostic (the first letters of the stanzas are the title).
• “A letter of blessing to the citizens of Urfa” ( Armenian ուղթ օրհնութեան առ մայրաքաղաքացիսն այի ) - 64 stanzas.

N. Akinian. Minas Amdetsi // Studies of the history of Armenian literature . - Vienna: Mkhitaristov publishing house, 1964. - Vol. 6. - p. 91-155. - 455 s.

Minas Amdetsi = Մինաս Ամդեցի // Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia . - 1981. - T. 7 . - p . 554 .

Kevork B. Bardakjian. A Reference Guide to Modern Armenian Literature, 1500-1920: With an Introductory History. - Wayne State University Press, 2000. - pp. 72-73. - 714 s. - ISBN 978-0-81432-747-0 .

Yu. A. Vardanyan. On the issue of the author and the time of the compilation “History of the City of Ani” // Historical and Philological Journal of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR. - 1985. - № 2 . - p . 212-225 .

A. A. Kazinyan. On the Question of the Original of the Manuscript of the “Book of Sorrowful Chants” by Grigor Narekatsi // Historical and Philological Journal of the Armenian SSSR Academy of Sciences. - 1989. - № 4 . - p . 186-194 .