Author Hermine Hakobyan

Historian and researcher Michael Hezemann arrived from Germany to participate in the special presentation. Years ago, he found thousands of previously unknown documents related to the Armenian Genocide in the Vatican archives. Historian Avetis Harutyunyan’s work “Armenian Migration During the First World War and the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church” reveals the history of Armenian migration after the Armenian Genocide in 1915-17. Armine Tigranyan’s study concerns the process of destruction of the cultural heritage of Artsakh by Azerbaijan. Priest Ararat Poghosyan’s book tells about the Armenian liberation struggle of the 16th-17th centuries and the role of Holy Etchmiadzin in that struggle. The books were published under the direct supervision of the Catholicos of All Armenians.

 

The congregants expressed deep concern about recent developments affecting the life of the Armenian Church and the nation, and considered unacceptable the continued persecution and targeting of clergy in Armenia, which diminish, undermine and devalue centuries-old spiritual, moral, cultural and national values. The assembly condemned the so-called “Reform Council”, considering it an illegal initiative that contradicts the canonical order, sacred traditions and church governance of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

 

An exhibition entitled "Abbot Mekhitar and the Students Who Perpetuated His Vision" has opened at the Mekhitarist Seminary, featuring rare books. The oldest book dates back to the beginning of the 18th century, when Armenian scientific thought was in decline, manuscript schools were being closed, printing was expensive and often inaccessible, and there was a problem with distributing Armenian books. In those difficult times, Mekhitar Sebastatsi dreamed of creating a center where Armenian thought would flourish.

 

57-year-old Shio Mujiri has been considered a potential successor to the late Ilia II since 2017. He served as the Catholicos-Patriarch's vicar for nine years. More than a thousand delegates from monasteries, other religious institutions, as well as public figures from the fields of science and culture took part in the election. The vote was conducted by the high-ranking clergy of the Holy Synod, and Metropolitan Shio received 22 out of 39 votes. In his speech, he stated that the Georgian Orthodox Church should continue to act as a guardian of national identity and a structure uniting the nation.

 

The 124th Diocesan Deputy Assembly of the Eastern Diocese was held in Milwaukee, USA, and was attended by clergy and lay delegates from Armenian church parishes on the East Coast of the United States. Bishop Mesrop Barsamyan has been re-elected Primate of the Eastern Diocese for the next four years. Bishop Mesrop has led the Eastern Diocese of the Armenians of the United States since 2022. The bishop will begin his second four-year service in the diocese, having received the approval of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.

 

 

The English volume entitled “The Half-Blood Prince and His Artistic Legacy” is the third monograph on Cilician miniature painting by Emma Chougaszyan, PhD in Art and Medieval History at the University of Montpellier. Archbishop John, brother of King Hetum I, founded the Grner School of Miniature Painting and is considered the founder of a new direction in miniature painting in Cilicia in the second half of the 13th century. This cleric, of royal origin, was the greatest patron of the arts and sciences in Cilicia at that time.

The book, written based on unpublished documents from the Vatican Secret Archives, addresses the Armenian Genocide. Michael Hezemann, studying numerous valuable documents, testimonies, letters and reports kept in the Vatican archives, irrefutably reaffirms the reality of the Armenian Genocide and its planned implementation.

 

The museum houses items, documents, photographs and orphan lists dedicated to the lives of orphans. In the back of the courtyard is a memorial sculpture of Maria Jacobsen and a tombstone with the inscription “Mother of Armenian Orphans.” On the other side are a series of sculptures depicting Armenian orphans in rags. The area, located about 30 kilometers from Beirut, was founded in 1920 by the Near East Relief Committee as a shelter for Armenian orphans.

 

The St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Stepanakert has most likely been destroyed by Azerbaijan. The information was disseminated by Hovik Avanesov, who deals with the cultural heritage of Artsakh. According to him, what happened is a clearly targeted policy to eliminate all visible traces of the Armenian presence. This is evidenced by the events that have taken place in Stepanakert in recent weeks, from vandalism to complete demolition. In the conditions of silence and inaction of international and Armenian state structures, these actions are becoming continuous.