San Lazzaro has fluctuated throughout history. In 1816, when Byron visited the island, there were some 70 Mekhitarists in San Lazzaro. The number of residents has decreased significantly since. By the early 1840s the island housed 50 monks and students, and some 20 monks in 1960. A Los Angeles Times writer noted in 1998 that San Lazzaro is still a "monastic hub of activity," although at the time the monastery housed only 10 seminarians and 10 fathers. Teresa Levonian Cole wrote in The Independent that, as of 2015, 12 vardapets (educated monks) and five novices reside in San Lazzaro. History Middle Ages The recorded history of the island begins in the 9th century. In 810, the Republic of Venice allocated the island to the abbot of the Benedictine Monastery of St. Ilario of Fusina. Leone Paolini, a local nobleman, obtained the island as a gift from the Abbot Uberto di Sant'Ilario and built a church, initially dedicated to Pope Leo I. It soon became an asylum for those infected with leprosy. In the 12th century, leprosy had appeared in Venice as a result of trade with the East. Paolini transferred the simple hospital of San Trovaso to the island. Thus, a leper colony was established at the island, which was chosen for that purpose due to its relative distance from the principal islands forming the city of Venice. It received its name from St. Lazarus, the patron saint of lepers. The church of San Lazzaro was founded in 1348, which is attested by an inscription in Gothic script. In the same year, the hospital was renovated and its ownership transferred from the Benedictines to the patriarchal cathedral of San Pietro. Leprosy declined by the mid-1500s and the island was abandoned by 1601 when only the chaplain and some gardeners remained at the island to grow vegetables. In the second half of the 17th century the island was leased to various religious groups. In 1651 a Dominican order settled at the island after fleeing from Turkish-occupied Crete. Jesuits also briefly settled there. By the early 18th century only a few crumbling ruins remained. Armenian period Establishment In April 1715, a group of twelve Armenian Catholic monks led by Mkhitar Sebastatsi (English: Mekhitar of Sebaste, Italian: Mechitar) arrived in Venice from Morea (the Peloponnese), following its invasion by the Ottoman Empire. The monks were members of a Catholic order founded by Mkhitar