On December 16, 2016, the Calouste Gulbenkian Hall of Hayartun Center of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese hosted a ceremony commemorating the 350^th anniversary of the printing of the Armenian version of the Bible. The event began with a performance by the choir of the St. Gevorg Armenian Church of Tbilisi, after which the Sacred Condac of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians devoted to the 350^th anniversary of the Armenian printing of the Bible was solemnly brought to the hall and read by assistant to the Primate of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese, Rev. Fr. Archimandrite Khoren Hovhannisyan.

The event featured the showing of a video devoted to the pro-national activities of Voskan of Yerevan, who printed 5,000 copies of the Armenian version of the Bible for the first time in 1666 in Amsterdam.

At the end of the event, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Georgia, His Grace, Fr. Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan gave his blessings to the gathered, appreciated the role and significance of the printing of the Bible and assessed it as a unique way of preserving the Armenian identity, enhancing Armenian culture and literature and reinforcing the Christian faith.

His Holiness expressed his gratitude to His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians for appreciating and eternalizing the 350^th anniversary of the printing of the Armenian version of the Bible everywhere, including at the Georgian-Armenian Diocese.

The Makar Yekmalyan Choir (choirmaster Svetlana Tatoyeva) of the St. Gevorg Armenian Church of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese performed the psalms “Hayr Mer”, “Hrashapar”, “Varanimk”, “Ov Zarmanali” and “Hrashatsan”, and the Nerses Shnorhali Choir of Hayartun Center (choirmaster Mary Abulyan, pianist Karen Mirzoyan) performed Nerses Shnorhali’s “New Flower”, Mesrop Mashtots’s “Armenian Letters” and Rafael Patkanyan’s “Lullaby”.

The ceremony included the showing of the print copies of Armenian version of the Bible republished by Abbot Mekhitar Sebastatsi in 1733 in Venice, as well as the print copes of the Bible published in Tpkhis in 1786 and 1842, in Constantinople in 1857 and 1895 and in other years.

Among the attendees were clergymen of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese, diplomats of the RA Embassy in Georgia, heads of community organizations, as well as Armenian intellectuals and public figures of Tbilisi. Among the participants were the clergy, members of the Hayartun Center and officials representing the Armenian Prelacy.

The event ended with His Holiness’s Prayer for Protection.

On December 22, 2016, RA Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan, who is on an official visit to Georgia, visited the St. Gevorg Armenian Church of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese in Tbilisi where he was received by the clergy and Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Georgia, His Grace, Fr. Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan.

The Minister and his delegation lit candles and said a prayer in the 13^th century St. Gevorg Church.

The Minister of Defense laid a wreath near the tombs of the late Armenian generals Mikhail Loris-Melikov, Ivan Lazarev, Boris Shelkovnikov and Arzas Ter-Ghukasov in the yard of the Church.

Afterwards, the Calouste Gulbenkian Hall of Hayartun Center of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese hosted the meeting of the RA Minister of Defense and his delegation with members of the Armenian community of Tbilisi, the heads of organizations of Samtskhe-Javakhk region, representatives of community organizations and intellectuals.

The children of the Saint Movses Khorenatsi Pre-School of the Center greeted the guests with their performances of the national anthems of the Republic of Armenia and Georgia.

Greeting the Minister, Primate of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese, Fr. Bishop Vazgen touched upon the history that the Georgians and Armenians have shaped by standing up for their homelands and ensuring peace and security for their nations.

Greeting the Primate and the Georgian-Armenians, RA Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan valued and highly appreciated the role of the Armenian Church in the lives of the Armenians in Armenia, abroad and in the Armenian Army. The Minister of Defense talked about the centuries-old Georgian-Armenian friendship, stating that there has never been any serious clash or discord between the two nations and countries. Minister Sargsyan appreciated the fact that the historically neighboring countries are bearers of the same value system and the Christian faith. The Minister particularly talked about the perspectives of cooperation between the armed forces of Georgia and the Republic of Armenia in ensuring security and maintaining peace in the region.

Military attaché of the RA Embassy in Georgia, Colonel Samvel Ramazyan read the order of RA Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan on awarding Tbilisi-based freedom fighters of the Karabakh war Stanislav Manukyan, Artur Beglyan and Director of Hayartun Center Levon Chidilyan with the Garegin Nzhdeh Medal.

The distinguished Minister answered questions from the attendees.

The Minister ended his meeting by wishing the Armenians of Georgia a Happy New Year.

RA Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan was accompanied by First Deputy Minister Davit Tonoyan, Lieutenant-General Enrico Apriamov and the other members of the delegation.