As a result of forced displacement, a 15-year-old Artsakh resident in Armenia creates perfume


During the siege of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, a teenager from Artsakh started producing perfume. As a result of the forced displacement, he could not take with him the essential oils of Artsakh plants distilled in Stepanakert. Now he sells his perfume through social networks and dreams of creating a global brand

The geography of the three-year program "Civic Education in Regions" will be expanded


From 2023, the Armenian "Round Table" Foundation of the World Council of Churches started the three-year program "Civic Education in Regions", which includes Shirak, Lori and Tavush regions. The implementation of the project is also supported by the dioceses and their affiliated social centers. The "Civic Education in Regions" program of the "Round Table" Foundation will continue until 2025.

On the Feast of Holy Translators, a festive meal was served in the St. Mesrop Mashtots church in Oshakan


On the feast dedicated to the creation of Armenian writings, a festive liturgy was held in the St. Mesrop Mashtots Church of Oshakan under the leadership of Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan. Traditionally, on this day, the already literate first graders visit the St. Mashtots Church. The clergyman urged the attendees not to forget about the victory achieved by faith, thought and writing in the 5th century.

The participants of the "Armen" research project studied medieval Armenia


Mashtots Matenadaran hosted the participants of the "Armen" scientific research project at the University of Florence, funded by the European Council, who participated in a two-day workshop on "Armenia and Armenians in the World Middle Ages" with more than ten researchers of the Matenadaran. Research topics range from the restoration of Bagratuni Armenian statehood to the fall of Mongol rule in Armenia. Little-known manuscripts and originals kept in the Matenadaran, the libraries of the Mkhitaryan Congregation of Venice, Vienna, Jerusalem and Paris became the material of study.

In Ararat, the 2nd anniversary of the Church of the Holy Savior was celebrated with a festive liturgy


The residents of Ararat started the day in the Holy Savior Church with a festive service. The single-dome, built of black and orange tuff, Saint Holy Savior is the only place of worship in the city, the construction of which took more than 10 years. Adjacent to the church, a candle-lighting hall and a pastor's house were built, which will soon be used for the activities of the youth union and the Sunday school. The entire area of ​​the church is also well-kept and green.

Along with the restoration of the Cathedral, the adjacent green area is being improved


In the next 1-2 years, the green area of ​​the Temple will get its complete appearance. At the suggestion of the Patriarch of All Armenians, the landscaping of the Temple was designed with the motifs of Armenian carpet art ornaments. A large team of landscape architects, botanists, and designers worked to create a green combination suitable for the surrounding structures and climate. Among the flowers, white and red roses, lavender and hydrangea were chosen, which are separated from each other by bushes. The plants were imported from different European countries in April last year.

Vysotsky's works will be studied by the students of "Real School"


Soon, the "Real School" school will teach students with its own textbook by Grabar, which includes fables, modern stories with Grabar translation, excerpts from the works of historians and even Grabar translations of songs by Vysotsky and other authors. The real school operates in Yerevan, Vanadzor, Ijevan, Gyumri, accepting 100 applicants annually, a branch will be opened in Goris in the near future. In cooperation with the Armenian Apostolic Church and YSU Faculty of Philology, "Real School" conducts Grabar Olympiads among pupils and students.

The two wells inside the Cathedral are being repaired and cleaned


There are 2 wells inside the Mother Cathedral, one inside the northern depository, the other in front of the altar of Saint Stepanos Proto-deacon, from where believers took water, convinced that it was endowed with the miraculous power of the temple. Since 2012, restoration architect Amiran Badishyan has measured and recorded the volume of water in the well in front of Stepanos Nakhavka's shrine in dry and rainy seasons. There is no water in the second well, never before. At the end of the restoration of the temple, the well will be cleaned and there will be water in both.

The restoration of the northern and southern altars and holy tables of the Cathedral has begun


The southern altar is named after John the Baptist. The northern altar bears the name of Saint Stephen, the first archdeacon who was martyred for the Christian faith. Both were built in the 17th-18th centuries. In the 1950s, during the restoration of the Temple, the holy tables were damaged. By the decision of Karekin II, the Patriarch of All Armenians, a new one will be built, more in line with the Temple.

Students with disabilities of the "Way of Happiness" NGO were baptized


Beneficiaries of the Vagharshapat charitable organization "Way of Happiness" were baptized in the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary of Etchmiadzin. The organization provides daily day care to 20 beneficiaries aged 18-65 with mental disorders, speech, vision, locomotion and other problems. The purpose of the organization is to ensure the social integration of students into society and ensure their employment.

June 1 is the commemoration of Saint Gregory the Illuminator's coming out of Pit


The relics of the saint were brought to the Khor Virap monastery complex and a festive liturgy was held. The feast coincided with the International Children's Day. We talked with the children in the courtyard of the monastery: who protects them and how, children's opinions varied.

The monuments of Artsakh may have the fate of the monuments of Nakhichevan


The collective monograph "Monuments and Identities in the Caucasus" was published, in which a group of Armenian and foreign scientists referred to the many endangered and already destroyed Armenian monuments in Artsakh, Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan. Those monasteries, churches and khachkars date from the early Christian period to the Middle Ages and the present day. They are presented from artistic-architectural and historiographical perspectives. From the 1920s to 2021 inclusive, the number of Armenian monuments that were disfigured or destroyed is 325, and another 329 monuments met the same fate in an unknown region.