February 19^th marked the birthday of Poet of All Armenians Hovhannes Tumanyan’s. Like every year, this year the Armenians of Tbilisi paid tribute to the great poet by visiting the Khojivank Pantheon where the tombs of Armenian writers and public figures are located. The leader of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese officiated and clergymen participated in a Requiem Service near the tomb of the great poet, as the Georgian-Armenian Diocese reports to “Hayern Aysor”.

After the ceremony, Father, Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan addressed the gathered and praised Tbilisi-Armenian intellectuals for keeping the memory of great Armenians alive. The bishop also appreciated the generosity of Tbilisi Municipality and the RA Ministry of Diaspora towards the Khojivank Pantheon of the Greats of all Greats.

Touching upon the initiative that the late Levon Ananyan undertook ten years ago to donate books on the birthday of Hovhannes Tumanyan, poet, translator Anahit Bostanjyan mentioned that she stayed true to this initiative that has already become a tradition and that she continues to donate her own books and other books from her personal library.

Editor of Georgia newspaper Van Bayburtyan regretted to mention that Armenian youth don’t read books and urged them to love reading and actively donate books to each other.

Members of Samvel Elbakyan’s poetry club representing the Hayartun Center recited beautiful poems by Hovhannes Tumanyan and poems devoted to the mother language. Tbilisi-Armenian intellectuals, members of the creative groups of Hayartun Center and their teachers laid flowers at the tombs of great Armenians.