“In honor of my father, I will only say that he was a kind of moral sun for Nakhchivan for 30 years, spreading light and truth around him. The general respect and surprise that surrounded my father seemed to make him self-righteous, self-righteous, egotistical, but it really didn’t happen like that, my father always remained modest…”.

Raphael Patkanian

As the eminent ambassadors of literary studies prove, for more than a century the Patkanian clan has played an outstanding role in the history of the progress of Armenian public thought. 

The talented representatives of this dynasty, Serobe, Gabriel, Mikael, Raphael and Kerobe Patkanian, rendered invaluable services in the field of the development of the new Armenian national language and literature, school, pedagogy, theater and Armenian historiography. One of these grateful people, Gabriel Patkanian, was considered a “living martyr” by his biographers. 

Being a person endowed with national spirituality and compassion, he helped the poor villagers with grain bought with church money, raised the issue of the responsibility of church money, which would be the reason for his expulsion from the college.

He compiled textbooks, dictionaries, calendars, wrote bibliographic and religious works. He left a rich literary legacy. The fervent supporter of the national cause also left behind historical studies: “History of the Armenian Nation”, “Novel on the History of the Armenian Nation”. His work “Hishtakaran” is a precious legacy which, with its inclusiveness, abundance of facts and mastery of writing style, ranks among the significant phenomena of our new literature.