The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Albianos
fl. c. AD 320s (death unrecorded) · Bishop of Manazkert · Founder of the Albianosid line · Manazkert, Armenia
The Nicene Age
Who Albianos was
One of the bishops consecrated in the first Armenian generation, and the ancestor of the house that supplied three catholicoi — Shahak, Zaven and Aspurakes — in the 370s and 380s, in rivalry with Gregory’s own descendants. The Albianosid line is the reason the Armenian succession of that decade is disputed at all.
Named in the fifth-century Armenian sources only — late attestation for a fourth-century figure, on the same footing as Gregory, Trdat and Nerses in this archive.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When was Albianos active?
Albianos is dated fl. c. AD 320s (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Albianos in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Albianos?
Albianos is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Pʼawstos Buzand. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Albianos from?
The archive associates Albianos with Manazkert, Armenia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Albianos’ contemporaries?
The archive links Albianos to 4 other figures, including Gregory the Illuminator, Shahak I of Manazkert, Zaven I and Aspurakes I. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Buzandaran Patmutʼiwnkʼ (The Epic Histories) III — anonymous Armenian composition of the 470s
c. AD 475[Albianos is named among the hierarchs of the first Armenian generation; his house later held the catholicosate.]Pʼawstos Buzand · Epic Histories III · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Albianos in the sources
These figures are placed with Albianos by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Albianos naming them in return.
Events in this lifetime
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Albianos.
- 1Armeniaprovince only