Exhibition dedicated to Sebastatsi opened at the Mekhitarist Seminary


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.
 

Shio Mujiri elected new Catholicos-Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church with 22 votes


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.
 

Bishop Mesrop Barsamyan Re-Elected Primate of the Eastern Diocese


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 Mother See Strongly Condemns the Statement of the Caucasus Muslims Board


The Caucasus Muslims Board is attempting to justify the destruction of the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage of Artsakh by the Azerbaijani authorities, in particular, the complete destruction of the Holy Mother of God Church in Stepanakert. The Mother See notes that the desecration, appropriation or destruction of holy sites cannot be justified by any political, administrative or pseudo-legal formulation.

 

A work on Prince John and the Grner School of Miniature Painting has been published


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 Mother See has published the work of German historian Michael Hezemann on the Armenian Genocide


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.
 

Lebanon is home to the world’s only museum of Armenian Genocide orphans


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.
 

Azerbaijan Destroys Stepanakert's St. John the Baptist Cathedral


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.
 

Holy Etchmiadzin: Father Husik Smbatyan celebrated the liturgy on Ashkharamatraն Sunday


The second Sunday of the Holy Resurrection is called Ashkharamatraն or Green Sunday. It symbolizes the great mystery of the establishment of the Christian church, when the light of Christ's resurrection spreads throughout the world, and Christ's disciples become the bearers of that light, spreading the divine word. The people have called Ashkharamatraն Sunday Green Sunday, because during this period of spring awakening, nature blooms and turns green, as does humanity, with the hope and light brought by Christ.

 

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Arrives at the Mother See


His Holiness, Father Ignatius Ephrem II, who arrived at the invitation of the Catholicos of All Armenians, prayed for the prosperity of the Armenian Church, the well-being of the Armenian people, and the establishment of peace in the region. Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, greeted His Holiness on behalf of the confraternity of the Mother See. After the consecration ceremony, a private meeting between the Catholicos of All Armenians and the Ecumenical Patriarch of the East took place in the Cathedral.
 

The Carpet Collection of the Mother See


For centuries, carpets have been kept in the treasury of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin as cultural treasures. These carpets are not simply decorative objects, but eloquent witnesses of a culture. The collection of the Mother See was formed not as a result of planned collection, but as a result of time, donations and historical upheavals. Under the care of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, the collection is currently being supplemented with the aim of becoming a complete material for a carpet museum in the future.

Armenians of Moscow celebrated the feast of the Holy Resurrection with great solemnity


Archbishop Ezras Nersisyan served the festive Liturgy at the Holy Transfiguration Mother Church of the Diocese of Russia and New Nakhijevan. The Armenians of Moscow celebrated the feast with great solemnity. Hundreds of people gathered at the cathedral to participate in church services and folk festivities.