On May 22, at the initiative of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia and the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Depository of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Depository of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin launched a conference dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia and the May Heroic Battles and entitled “The Republic of Armenia and the Role of the Armenian Church in the Establishment of Armenian Statehood (1918-2018)”.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch gave his blessing at the opening of the conference, attaching importance to the conference during which the participants will touch upon the hierarchical mission and pro-national activities of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church. The Catholicos of All Armenians stated that the heroic battles of the Armenians in the month of May were evidence of the love and unity of the Armenian nation, and the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church gave its blessing to the just struggle in 1918 and throughout the heroic battle for the liberation of Artsakh. In his speech, the Supreme Patriarch emphasized that the 100^th anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia and the May Heroic Battles heralded the Armenians of the world to contribute to the development and advancement of our State.

In his welcoming remarks, RA Minister of Diaspora Mkhitar Hayrapetyan emphasized that he was participating in such a major event as the Minister of Diaspora for the first time and that this further strengthens the relations between the Ministry and the Mother See.

The Minister attached importance to pan-Armenian priorities, particularly preservation of the Armenian identity and repatriation. Touching upon the challenges of globalization and the risk of assimilation in the Diaspora, Mkhitar Hayrapetyan highlighted the fact that a specific political benchmark has been set for implementation of these two priorities.

Mkhitar Hayrapetyan stated that there is currently an unprecedented wave of Diaspora Armenians who are ready to support, build and enhance Armenia. He touched upon the role of the Armenian Church in the establishment of Armenian statehood, stating that the Church even supported the people in the absence of statehood. He stressed that the vision for a powerful Armenia, safe Artsakh and organized Diaspora has to lie at the core of the activities of each and every Armenian. “I am certain that we can accomplish our pan-national goals through combined efforts,” Mkhitar Hayrapetyan concluded.

Head of the Department of International Relations and Protocol of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Archbishop Natan Hovhannisyan also gave his opening remarks.

The conference continued with two sessions. Among the speakers were Director of the M. Abeghyan Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) Vardan Devrikyan (“The Relations of the Mother See and the Dioceses of the Diaspora during the years of the First Republic of Armenia”); Superintendent of the Gevorgyan Spiritual Lyceum, Archimandrite Garegin Hambardzumyan (“Church-State Relations: Historical Background”); Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Tehran, Archbishop Sepuh Sarkisian (“The Role of the Armenian Church in the Establishment and Empowerment of Armenian Statehood: Historical Background”); Dean of the Faculty of History at Yerevan State University Edik Minasyan (“The Armenian Church in the Struggle for the Independence and Nation-Building of the Third Republic of Armenia (1991-2001)”); Director of the Museums and Archives of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Priest Asoghik Karapetyan (“Armenian Patriarch Gevorg V”); Professor of the Chair of the History of the Armenian Church and Church Studies of the Faculty of Theology at Yerevan State University Artsruni Sahakyan (“Tendencies of the Mother See for Gathering Armenians and Shaping the State in the 15^th-20^th Centuries”); Head of the Cinema-Photo-Phono Documents of the National Archives of Armenia Avag Harutyunyan (“Community Service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in 1918-20”); Head of the Research Department of the National Archives of Armenia Gohar Avagyan (“Property Issues of the Mother See during the years of the First Republic of Armenia”); Head of the Chair of the Theory and History of State and Law of the Faculty of Law at Yerevan State University, lecturer of the Gevorgyan Spiritual Lyceum Artur Vagharshyan (“Prerequisites for the Establishment of the First Republic of Armenia”); Head of the Chair of Social Sciences at Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi Vahan Melikyan (“The Ecclesiastical Congress of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in 1917”); lecturer of the Gevorgyan Spiritual Lyceum and the Khachatur Abovyan Armenian State Pedagogical University Avetis Harutyunyan (“On the Issue of the Establishment of the First Republic of Armenia”); congregate of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, Archbishop Varoujan Hergelian (“The Armenian Church as a Partner of the Armenian State”); Professor of the Chair of Armenian History of the Faculty of History at Yerevan State University Ashot Hyeruni (“The Activities of the Delegation of the Republic of Armenia in Berlin in 1918”); pastor of the Holy Martyrs Armenian Catholic Church of Gyumri, Archimandrite Mashtots Zahteryan (“Contributions of the Armenian Catholic Church and its Relationship in the Eternity and Empowerment of the Newly Established Armenian Statehood”); pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church, Rev. Aram Babajanyan (“The Activities of the Armenian Evangelical Church during the years of the First Republic of Armenia”); Doctor of Historical Sciences of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia, Professor of the Yerevan branch of Moscow State University Stepan Stepanyants (“The Diocese of New Nakhichevan and Besarabia in 1917-20”); Associate Professor of the Chair of the History of the Armenian Church and Church Studies of the Faculty of Theology at Yerevan State University Lilit Poghosyan (“Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I and the Newly independent Republic of Armenia”); leading scientific worker of the M. Abeghyan Institute of Literature Susanna Hovhannisyan (“The Activities of Hovhannes Tumanyan during the days of establishment of the First Republic of Armenia”) and Candidate of Historical Sciences, Diaspora expert Haik Yengibaryan (“The Armenian Apostolic Church and the State Plan for the Great Repatriation”).