Until 1915 it served as the seat of the Trebizond diocese tied to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. At this time, the vibrant Armenian community of the city numbered 30,000. In 1915, the normal functions of the monastery were interrupted when it was used as a transit camp for Armenians being deported to Syria during the Armenian genocide. After the Russian capture of Trebizond, Armenian monks returned to the monastery, and monks were there until sometime after World War I, supposedly 1923.