Hranush Hakobyan: “The Mekhitarist Congregation plays an exceptional role in the preservation of the Armenian identity”

Events dedicated to 300th anniversary of establishment of Mekhitarist Congregation on St. Lazarus Island kicks off

On October 23, the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) hosted the opening ceremony of the events dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Mekhitarist Congregation on St. Lazarus Island.

The opening ceremony is being held as part of the events dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Mekhitarist Congregation on St. Lazarus Island and taking place in Armenia on 23-25 October. The events are organized by the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian Studies and Social Sciences Section of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA), Yerevan State University, Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) and the Mekhitarist Congregation in Venice.

Valuing the role and significance of the Mekhitarist Congregation in the preservation of the Armenian identity and the development of Armenian language, literature and culture, Acting Director of the Matenadaran Vahan Ter-Ghevondyan stated that the Matenadaran is participating in the events dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Mekhitarist Congregation with special pleasure.

In her opening remarks, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan stated that the Mekhitarist Congregation was established by Mekhitar Sebastatsi three centuries ago and is now one of the world’s most famous spiritual centers, as well as a center for training, education, literature, science and culture. The Minister highlighted the fact that even though the Congregation is located in the heart of Europe, it has helped introduce Armenian culture to the West and Western culture to the Armenian public. “The Congregation has played an exceptional role in the preservation of the Armenian identity. The general and sector-specific academic dictionaries, translations, as well as books devoted to religion, history, language, natural sciences and economics are exclusive samples of humanities in the world. I am glad that the Armenian public will have the opportunity to view a couple of those samples in the gallery of the Matenadaran today,” Minister Hranush Hakobyan added.

Touching upon the Congregation’s educational activities, the Minister attached importance to the activities of the Mekhitarist seminaries in numerous countries around the world.

“I am glad that the Ministry of Diaspora has carried out numerous programs and projects with the Mekhitarist Congregation since the very first days of the establishment of the Ministry. Recently, the efforts for digitization of the heritage of the Congregation were launched with the assistance of the President of the Republic of Armenia,” the Minister stated.

Minister Hranush Hakobyan awarded Pontifical Delegate of the Mekhitarist Congregation, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Catholic Church in Turkey, Fr. Archbishop Levon Zekiyan with the Commemorative Gold Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora for his significant contributions to the development of the Armenia-Diaspora partnership, for his services provided to the Homeland and the Diaspora, as well as for his significant contributions to the strengthening of relations with the Homeland and within the Diaspora and preservation of the Armenian identity.

In his welcoming remarks, Archbishop Levon Zekiyan expressed gratitude to the event’s organizers, particularly the RA Ministry of Diaspora and Minister Hranush Hakobyan for organizing the events dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Mekhitarist Congregation at a high level in Armenia.

The speech was followed by the ceremony of redemption of a stamp dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Mekhitarist Congregation on St. Lazarus Island. The stamp was redeemed by RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan; President of the NAS RA Radik Martirosyan; Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Catholic Church in Turkey, Archbishop Levon Zekiyan; RA Deputy Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies Arman Khachatryan and Acting Chief Executive Officer of HayPost CJSC.

The official opening of the events dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Mekhitarist Congregation was followed by a concert, after which the attendees were provided with the opportunity to view the exhibition held under the tile “300-Year History of the Mekhitarists” and featuring books published in the 17th-18th centuries on St. Lazarus Island in Venice.

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