THE AUTUMN OF THE PATRIARCH

The year 2013 was a year of great losses for the Armenian nation…

Many remarkable Armenian artists and writers and great individuals have passed away. Each of them has had the mindset of an Armenian and has borne the image of an Armenian. Each of them has also created the “reality” of the Spirit of Armenians …

But the greatest loss was the loss of SOS SARGSYAN, who was one of the greatest Armenian actors all time. He was not only an actor and artist, but also a unique writer, great thinker and one of the individuals that had the remorse and morality of the Armenian nation…The Armenians needed people like Tumanyan so that they would always sense the value of the words of the Great Tumanyan and would live by remembering all that he had said. Sos Sargsyan was like Tumanyan with his image and essence. He was like a Patriarch, and his presence not only made us proud, but also made us feel confident that there are greats who help us not break down, help us break the barriers between our Biblical past and the uncertainty in the present, as well as clarify things and make us learn the right way of doing things…

For nearly two decades, we Armenians have rejoiced, have felt disappointment, have been awakened and have been in a downfall. We have aspired to build a nation and have often rejected our notions and have stopped aspiring. Throughout these years, Sos Sargsyan shared his words of wisdom, dicated his notions with disappointment and with the tranquility of a philosopher, criticized and complained, smiled like a wise man and, like Tumanyan, said ��?What are you doing, children?’ (Akhr, es inch ek anum, ay erekhek)…We didn’t listen to the Patriarch. We didn’t want to look at ourselves and our country as wise men. Perhaps that is the reason why we have lost a lot and haven’t found much…

Sos Sargsyan was like the “strong oak tree” in Armenian theater, the plenipotentiary representative of great Armenians. Whenever we saw him, we truly remembered our greats because he embodied each of them. He was with the greats and with us and served as a bridge…Many of his characters on stage and in movies were the manifestations of the Armenian national identity and the philosophy and represented the personalities of Armenians. In cinema, Sos Sargsyan created powerful characters that affirmed the exceptionality of the type of Armenians.

THE ARMENIAN OF CINEMA…This is how I can describe Sos Sargsyan, whose correct sound, deep penetrations and the unique ability to move from the specific to general shaped strong, incessant and monumental characters in cinema…

Now, all that is merely a memory and survives in the present because all that Sos Sargsyan created will live on for centuries…

LEVON MUTAFYAN

Theater critic, RA Distinguished Artist

Secretary of the Union of Theater Figures of Armenia

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