Mkhitar Sebastatsi (Armenian: Մխիթար

Սեբաստացի, also known as Mekhitar or Mechitar of Sebaste;

1676 – 1749) was an Armenian Catholic monk and a prominent scholar

and theologian who founded the Mekhitarist Order. Stepanos Nazarian described him as the

"second Mesrop Mashtots".

Born Petros Manuk (Peter of Manug) in Sivas (Sebaste) in Anatolia on 7 February 1676, he entered the Surp Nshan (Holy Cross) monastery, taking

the name Mekhitar ("The Consoler"). In 1696 he was ordained a priest.

Inspired by the idea of creating an order of preachers dedicated to raising the educational and spiritual level of the Armenian people, Mekhitar founded in 1701

in Constantinople what would become known after his death as the Mekhitarist Order.

Two years later, escaping persecution by the Ottoman authorities, the order moved to Modon in the Peloponnese, then known as theMorea, which was a Venetian possession. In 1715, the order moved to the Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni at the invitation of theVenetian Republic. Mekhitar built up the monastery on the island and the order which sent out priests to serve Armenian communities in the Middle East.

Primary school5th grade

Tigran Arzumanyanteacher:

Nelly Medoyan