Service in Van, 1854-1869
In 1854, he was ordained a priest and entered priesthood in the monastery of Aght'amar. In 1857 Khrimyan became the head of Taron, the dean of Saint Karapet seminary. Being a progressivist, he was resented by his conservative brethren. So he left the monastery and gave himself to independent service.
Elsewhere, his sermons won him public admiration and affection among Armenians. Khrimian was known to be an excellent orator, his speeches full of color and emotion. Khrimian urged Armenian peasants to defend themselves against hostile Kurds. He was also successful in repealing illegal taxes imposed against Christian Armenians by the Ottoman government.
He established a printing press at Varagavank in Van, and thereafter launched in 1885 Artsiv Vaspourakan (meaning Eagle of Vaspourakan), which is considered the first Armenian periodical publication in Armenia. Garegin Shrvandztyants and Arsen Tokhmakhyan also worked on this periodical together with other pupils of a school founded by Khrimyan.
Read more about this topic: Mkrtich Khrimian
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