Զինամանթօ

The question of canonizing Komitas Vardapet has formally been placed on the agenda of the Armenian Apostolic Church. During its recent session, the Supreme Spiritual Council resolved to establish special committees to organize spiritual and cultural events marking the 1700th anniversary of the passing of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, and to examine the canonization of Komitas. According to church sources, the consideration of Komitas’s individual sainthood has resurfaced periodically over the decades, often in moments of renewed cultural and public reflection on his legacy. Komitas (1869–1935) was a priest, composer, musicologist, and founder of the Armenian national school of music. He remains a defining figure of modern Armenian identity. A survivor of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, he endured severe psychological trauma following his arrest and deportation and spent his final years in silence. His deep spiritual life, moral example, and monumental role in preserving Armenian sacred and folk music have long inspired calls for his recognition as a saint. The establishment of the new commission marks the first formal institutional step in evaluating his life and virtues within the canonization process. If approved, Komitas would be proclaimed a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church, a historic act that would affirm not only his cultural significance, but also his enduring spiritual place in the Armenian story.