On April 6, AGBU Lebanon—in collaboration with the Embassy of Armenia in Lebanon and under the patronage of the Minister of Culture Ghattas Khoury—organized a lecture in French entitled “L’architecture arménienne au Liban : une question d’identité” (Armenian Architecture in Lebanon: a Question of Identity).

Anita Lebiar, the executive director of AGBU Lebanon, began by highlighting the importance of the collaboration with the Embassy of Armenia in Lebanon and the Ministry of Culture as well as the important role it plays in bridging cultures. More than 120 members and friends attended the lecture. Among the guests were the Ambassador of Armenia to Lebanon Samvel Mkrtchyan; the Vice Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Haroutiun Samuelian; the representative of Minister of Culture, Nizar Daher; and the chairman of AGBU-AYA, Vicken Tchertchian.

Lebiar then introduced the speaker, architect Raffi Gergian, the conservator of the World Heritage Archeological site of the city of Anjar. Gergian is also a professor of the history of architecture in Antiquities and the Medieval Ages at the Lebanese University. During his presentation, Gergian discussed eminent Lebanese-Armenian architects of the twentieth century who produced monuments that marked the history of Lebanon, such as the Lebanese Parliament building and the Michel el Abed Clock Tower in Beirut, and Saint Paul’s Basilica in Harissa, among many others.

“If Armenia is the source of the formation of an Armenian religious architecture, Lebanon is the country where this art developed with Cilician and local influences, while diffusing gradually towards the countries of the diaspora,” said Gergian. “Armenian architecture is mainly founded on theological and liturgical requirements, which very quickly become symbols connecting the faithful with their church, as well as with their homeland.”

For more information about AGBU Lebanon, please visit http://agbulebanon.org

Established in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the world’s largest non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the lives of some 500,000 Armenians around the world. 

For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit www.agbu.org.