page_title: Vardan Areveltsi
section_title: Educational and ecclesiastical activity
hierarchical_section_title: Vardan Areveltsi / Biography / Educational and ecclesiastical activity
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Титульный лист издания истории Вардана Аревелци
context_page_description: Vardan Areveltsi was a thirteenth-century Armenian historian, geographer, philosopher and translator. In addition to establishing numerous schools and monasteries, he also left behind a rich contribution to Armenian literature. He is well known for writing Havakumn Patmutsyun, one of the first ever attempts to write a history of the world by an Armenian historian.
context_section_description: Three years later, Vardan traveled to the Cilician Armenia once more, this time participating in the governmental and social affairs of the kingdom. He was a fierce opponent of what he saw as the encroachment of the Orthodox Byzantine and Catholic churches in Cilician Armenia and fought diligently to counter their influences. While in Cilicia, Vardan also worked with Catholicos Constantine Bardzraberdtsi to write an ecclesiastical treatise entitled "Didactic Paper", which was intended for use in eastern Armenia. His religious activities also included writing a letter to the Pope in regards to the latter's attempts to extend Catholicism in the kingdom and his participation in another ecumenical council in 1251 in Sis.
  In 1252, Vardan returned to Armenia and began organizing an ecumenical council that would convene in Haghpat and Dzagavan. Returning to educational life, he also established institutions for learning at the monasteries of Saghmosavank, Teghenyats, Aghjots, and Khorakert. He remained an instructor at Haghpat for several years until 1255, when he traveled to Khor Virap, establishing a seminary there. At Khor Virap, he introduced a curriculum which included philosophy, logic, oratory, and grammar. Many of his pupils went on to become notable Armenian intellectuals, including Gevork Skevṛatsi, Hovhannes Yerznkatsi, Nerses Mshetsi, and Grigor Bjnetsi. In 1264, Vardan also played an important role as a negotiator when he went to Tabriz, where the Mongol leader Hulagu Khan was residing. He brokered an agreement which gave special privileges to the Armenians living under the yoke of the Mongol Empire and settled a deal on the collection of levies and taxes. Vardan's ties with the Mongols were especially intimate, as he was allowed to become the religious adviser of Hulagu Khan's wife, Doquz Khatun, who happened to be a Nestorian Christian.
  Vardan died in 1271 in Khor Virap, bequeathing a significant literary legacy which encompassed Armenia's political, cultural, religious, and social lives.
caption: Publishing of "Historical Compilation", Venice, 1862
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