Vazgen I
His Holiness, National Hero of Armenia Vazgen / Vazken I Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians | |
|---|---|
| Church | Armenian Apostolic Church |
| See | Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin |
| Installed | 1955 |
| Term ended | 1994 |
| Predecessor | George VI |
| Successor | Karekin I |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Levon Garabed Baljian September 20, 1908 |
| Died | August 18, 1994 (aged 85) Yerevan, Armenia |
| Buried | Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin |
Vazgen I also Vazken I of Bucharest (Armenian: Վազգէն Ա Բուխարեստցի), born Levon Garabed Baljian (Լևոն Կարապետ Աբրահամի Պալճյան; September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 39 years, the 4th longest reign in the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
A native of Romania, he began his career as a philosopher, before becoming a Doctor of Theology and a member of the local Armenian clergy. The leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church hierarchy in Romania, he became Catholicos in 1955, moving to Soviet Armenia. Vazgen I led the Armenian Church during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and was the first Catholicos in newly independent Armenia.