Catholicos Karekin II (also Garegin) is the current head of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church. He was born as Krtich Nersessian in Voskehat, Armenia on August 21, 1951. He entered the seminary in 1965 and graduated with honors in 1971. Before that he became a deacon in 1970. Later he became a monk and was ordained priest in 1972. In the late 1970s the Catholicos of that period encouraged him to study outside of Armenia.

Saint Gregory the Illuminator or Saint Gregory the Enlightener (translit., or, or), the founder and patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church, was born about 257. He belonged to the royal line of the Arsacid Dynasty, being the son of a Parthian named Anak, who assassinated Chosroes I of Armenia, and thus brought ruin on himself and his family.

His Holiness Aram I has been Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church since 1995. He resides in Antelias, Beirut. Born Pedros Keshishian in Beirut, Lebanon in 1947. He was ordained priest in 1968, and was consecrated bishop in Antelias on 22 August 1980. From 1980 to 1995 he was bishop of Beirut of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Karekin I (Eastern Armenian pronunciation: Garegin I) (Armenian:) (August 27, 1932 - June 29, 1999), served as the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1994 and 1999. Previously, he served as the Catholicos of Cilicia from 1983 to 1994 under the name Karekin II (Armenian:). Karekin, baptized Neshan Sarkissian, was born in Kessab, Syria, where he attended the Armenian elementary school.

His Holiness Karekin I was Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church from 1943-1952. Born Garegin Hovsepian and originally from Artsakh, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1909. In 1917 he was ordained bishop, though this did not keep him from participating in the Battle of Sardarapat (1918) and Battle of Kars (1921). He served as Primate of the Diocese of Crimea and Nor Nakhichevan (in Russia), …

Hrant Dink (September 15, 1954 – January 19, 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian editor, journalist and columnist. As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper "Agos" (Ակօս), Dink was a prominent member of the Armenian minority in Turkey.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, born 1951, is the primate of Diocese of Armenian Church of America (Eastern) and the president of the Fund for Armenian Relief.

His Holiness Vazgen I (born Levon Garabed Baljian; September 20, 1908-August 18, 1994) was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1955 and 1994 in one of the longest reigns of the Armenian Catholicoi. Vazgen was born in Bucharest, Romania to a family belonging to the Armenian minority. His father was a shoemaker and his mother was a school teacher. Surprisingly, the young Levon Baljian did not initially pursue the Church as a profession, …

His Holiness, the Catholicos of Armenia and of All Armenians (plural "Catholicoi", due to its Greek origin) is the head archbishop of Armenia's dominant church, the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches that separated from the rest of the Christian church in 451 as a result of the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. The first Catholicos of Armenia and of All Armenians was Saint Thaddeus, one of Jesus's apostles.

Mikayel Chamchian was an Armenian Mekhitarist monk and historian who in 1784-1788 published a "History of the Armenians" in three volumes. The work marks the beginning of Romantic Armenian nationalism. Chamchian provides a chronology for the Armenian patriarchs of Moses of Chorene's "History of Armenia", dating Haik's battle with Belus to 11 August 2492 BC.

Daniel Decker is a Puerto Rican - American composer, singer and recording artist known for his unique blending of musical influences from around the globe and infusing them into his own works. Born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico and trained at the famed Crane School of Music in New York, he has charted his own musical course, incorporating many of the diverse musical elements he has encountered along the way. Not content to be limited to one musical genre, …

Joel is the second of the twelve minor prophets and the author of the Book of Joel. He was the son of Pethuel. His personal history is known only from his book. The name Joel means "The Lord Is God". On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is October 19.He is commemorated with the other Minor prophets in the Calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 31.

Eastern Christian Monasticism is the life followed by monks and nuns of Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism. Some authors will use the term "Basilian" to describe Eastern monks; however, this is incorrect, since the Eastern Church does not have religious orders, as in the West, nor does Eastern monasticism have monastic Rules, as in the West.

Haggai was one of the twelve minor prophets and the author of the Book of Haggai. He was the first of three prophets (with Zechariah, his contemporary, and Malachi, who lived about one hundred years later), whose ministry belonged to the period of Jewish history which began after the return from captivity in Babylon. Scarcely anything is known of his personal history. He may have been one of the captives taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

Zechariah or Zecharya (Lordwas a person in the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. He was the author of the Book of Zechariah. It is a theophoric name, the ending -iah being a short Hebrew form for the Tetragrammaton, which was very commonly in its times in association with people & places names. He was a prophet of the two-tribe kingdom of Judah, and the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets.

Saint Nishan (Sourb Nshan) is a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church who lived in the 10th century and is known as the founder of Haghpat Monastery in Haghpat, Armenia. There is a small church and a large cathedral there that bear his name.

Lusine Zakaryan, born Svetlana Zakaryan (1937, Akhaltsikhe, Georgian SSR - 1992), was an Armenian opera singer (soprano). She grew up in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southern Georgia. In 1952 she moved with her family to Yerevan, where she attended a secondary music school. She entered the Yerevan Conservatory in 1957 and her singing talent soon became clear. From 1970 to 1983 Zakaryan was a soloist with the symphony orchestra of Armenian TV and Radio.

Matthew of Edessa was an Armenian historian in the 12th century born in the city of Edessa (Armenian Ուռհա — "Urha"). Matthew was the superior abbot of Karmir Vanq (Red Convent), near the town of Kessoun, east of Marash (Germanicia), the former seat of Baldwin of Boulogne. The literary and historical knowledge of Matthew was limited; however, the accuracy of his work has not been disputed.

Udi Hrant Kenkulian (1901-August 29, 1978), often referred to as Udi Hrant ("oud-player Hrant") or as Hrant Emre ("Hrant of the soul") was an oud player of Turkish classical music, and a key transitional figure in its transformation into a contemporary popular music. He was an ethnic Armenian citizen of Turkey who spent most of his life in Turkey and wrote most of his lyrics in Turkish.

Hampartsoum Limondjian (1768–June 29 1839) was an Ottoman composer of Armenian church music and Turkish classical music and musical theorist who developed the Hampartsoum notation system. The system was the main music notation for Turkish classical music until modern times and is still used by the Armenian Apostolic Church. The name Համբարձում, pronounced "Hampartsum" in Western Armenian or "Hambardzum" in Eastern Armenian, means "Ascension".

Hosea (LordGreek "' = Ōsēe"') was the son of Beeri and a prophet in Israel in the 8th century BCE. He is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible / Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament. We know practically nothing about the life or social status of Hosea. According to the Book of Hosea, he married the prostitute Gomer, the daughter of Diblayim, at God's command.

Nahum (נחום) was a minor prophet whose prophecy is recorded in the Hebrew Bible. His book comes in chronological order between Micah and Habakkuk in the Bible. He wrote about the end of the Assyrian Empire, and its capital city, Nineveh, in a vivid poetic style. Little is known about Nahum’s personal history. His name means "comforter," and he was from the town of Alqosh, (Nah 1:1) which scholars have attempted to identify with several cities, …

Ezekiel is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible of the Book of Ezekiel. He is commemorated as a saint in the Calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on August 28.

Enoch (Hebrew: "'; Tiberian: , Standard: "') is a name occurring twice in the generations of Adam. In one, he is described as having had a city named after him, but it is the other occurrence for which the name is famous. Despite the fame, the second mention of the name merely says that Enoch "walked with God, and was not, for God took him", that he lived 365 years, and the great-grandfather of Noah (Genesis 5:22-29).

Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and putative author of the speeches reported in the Book of Amos. The only direct information about him comes from this book. On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is June 15. He is commemorated with the other Minor prophets in the Calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 31.

Micah the titular prophet of the Book of Micah, also called "The Morasthite" He is not the same as another prophet, Micaiah son of Imlah. He is commemorated with the other Minor prophets in the Calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 31.

Ivan Ivanovich Agayants (ru: Иван Иванович Агаянц was a leading Soviet NKVD/KGB intelligence officer of Armenian origin. Born the son of Fr Hovhanes Agayants, priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in the Azerbaijani town of Elizavetpol on 28 August 1911, he followed two elder brothers into the secret police. In 1930 he moved to Moscow to begin work in the OGPU economic department. In 1936, as purges decimated secret police ranks, …

Catholicos Abraham III, known as Abraham of Crete, was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1734 and 1737. Born in Heraklion, Crete, he was bishop of Rodosto, Thrace and then Armenian prelate of Thrace from 1708-1734. At this time he went on a pilgrimage to eastern Armenia, at that time under Persian rule, which now make up the area of modern day Armenia and Nakhichevan. While he was there, Catholicos Abraham II passed away and, …

Catholicos Moses III (also Movses III) of Tatev was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1629 and 1632. He was a pioneer of the reform movement within the church and his work was carried on by his successors. He also obtained protection from the Shah of Persia against local Muslim chieftains.

Chosroes III The Small, the son of Tiridates III, was a member of the Arshakuni Dynasty and the king of Armenia from 330 – 339 AD. He was a man of short stature, thus his name. He founded the city of Dvin which later became the Armenian capital. During his reign, two generals, Vatche Mamikonian and Vahan Amatuni, distinguished themselves for their valor in battle, often coming to help the king.

Barak ("Lightning"), the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, was a military general in the Book of Judges in the Bible. He was the commander of the army of Deborah, the prophet and heroine of the Hebrew Bible. Barak and Deborah are credited with defeating the Canaanite armies led by Sisera, who for twenty years had oppressed the Israelites. The story of the defeat of Canaanites under the prophetic leadership of Deborah and the military leadership of Barak, …

Samson, Shimshon, <small>Standard</small> "Šimšon" <small>Tiberian</small> '; meaning "of the sun" – perhaps proclaiming he was radiant and mighty, or "[One who] Serves [God]") or Shama'un (Arabic) is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Children of Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. He is described in the Book of Judges chapters 13 to 16. Interestingly, while there are many common prophets in Jewish, …

His Holiness Sahag II, last name Khabayan (March 25, 1849-1939), was Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church from 1902-1939. Born in the village of Yeghiki in Kharpert, he received his religious training in Constantinople and Jerusalem. He was Catholicos of Cilicia during the tumultuous years of the Armenian Genocide, and was first exiled from the see's seat in Sis, and then again after relocating to Adana.

Seth, in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, is the third listed son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel and is the only other son mentioned by name. According to Genesis 4:25, Seth was born after the slaying of Abel by Cain, and Eve believed God had appointed him as "replacement" for Abel "because Cain killed him". He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30.

Eleazar (or Elazar), was a son of Aaron, a Levite priest and High Priest. His wife, a daughter of Putiel, bore him Phinehas. After the death of Nadab and Abihu, he was appointed to the charge of the sanctuary. He fulfilled a number of functions over the course of the Wilderness wanderings, from creating the plating to the altar out of the firepans of Korah's assembly to performing the ritual of the red heifer.

Enos or Enosh is a biblical name in the genealogies of Adam, and consequently referred to within the genealogies of Chronicles, and of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. He is the son of Seth, father of Kenan, and grandson of Adam (Gen. 5:6-11; Luke 3:38). He supposedly lived nine hundred and five years. In his time “men began to call upon the name of the Lord” (Gen.

Khosrov of Andzev (d. 964) was the father of Gregory of Narek, the greatest mystic poet of the tenth century. He took holy orders after the death of his wife, leaving his two songs, Grigor and Hovhannes, at the monastery of Narek to study under the tutelage of the abbot the scholar Anania Narekasti. In Armenian history and literature he is known for his commentary on the divine liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in which he skillfully interprets its ceremonies, …

Varoujan Altebarmakian , MD Dr. Altebarmakian was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1950. He received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut in 1974. He completed the Urological Residency Program at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York in 1981. He is Board Certified in Urology. In 1981 Dr. Altebarmakian joined The Permanente Medical Group at the Sacramento facility as a staff urologist.