According to The History of the Country of Albania, prior to his election as catholicos, he was leading Greater Arran bishopric (Old Armenian: Մեծ Առանք, romanized: Mec Aṙankʿ).
According to a colophon, he recovered some relics of St. Grigoris, St. Stephen, St. Varus, Mammes of Caesarea, Mar Sargis, Saints Cosmas and Damian, some of Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and Theodosius of Jerusalem in 559, latter of them being strongly anti-Chalcedonian in nature.
[2] Church of Caucasian Albania was a struggle ground between Orthodox and Monophysite views in 6th century.
Abas received two letters from top religious heads of its time - Hovhannes II (557 – 574), Catholicos of Armenia and John IV (575 - 594), Patriarch of Jerusalem, both urging Abas to come to their side.
[5] Despite posed as staunch anti-Chalcedonian in The History of the Country of Albania,[1] some scholars consider his monophysitism a later addition to sources.