Abbot Mechitar of Sebastia was at the helm of the creation of a powerful centre of Armenian monastic life, taking on traditional subjects and methods of clerical study while pushing forward a new school of enlightenment. Each sub­ject he pursued played their part both in Mechitar’s publishing activities as well as in the works of the students he trained.

Mechitar first taught his students methodologies of biblical exegesis, the various approaches to be adopted and the intentions to be fulfilled, and then he would slowly prepare them for publication. This is how we have acquired the com­mentary on Matthew the Evangelist, and then the one on Ecclesiastes as published books of exegesis. Next would be the yet-unpublished exegeses on the Old Testament and the New Testament, commentaries on four texts by Solo­mon and sixteen prophecies, and exegeses on the psalms of David.

The immediate and worthy successors of the great Teacher in this regard were Fr. Kapriel Avedikian, Fr. Mikayel Ciamciam, and Abbot Stepanos arch. Aucher.