PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version: nian.htm
THE CONFERENCE ON THE CULTURE OF CILICIAN ARMENIA
CONCLUDES IN ANTELIAS
CATHOLICOS ARAM I REASSURES THE DEDICATION OF
THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA TOWARDS ARMENOLOGY
The last four days became historical and enriching days for the
Catholicosate of Cilicia and for the field of Armenian studies. The
international conference on "The Culture of Cilician Armenia" which kicked
off in Antelias on January 14 concluded its activities yesterday with
Catholicos Aram I’s concluding remarks and blessings.
The Catholicos presided over the final session, which was dedicated to
general discussions and the future projects of the participating experts of
Armenology. The session also provided a platform for a general assessment of
the conference. The attendants emphasized the scientific productivity of the
sessions. They agreed that the discussions and exchange of ideas flowing
>From the presentations opened new intellectual horizons.
Having attended all the sessions of the conference and said his concluding
remarks at the end of each, the Catholicos expressed his overall opinion in
his Pontifical address. The Pontiff beautifully compiled and summarized the
main points made during the presentations dedicated to various aspects of
the culture of this rich period in Armenian history.
The director of the Mashdots Library in Yerevan, Hratchia Tamrazian, chaired
the concluding session of the conference. He expressed his gratitude to His
Holiness Aram I for this unique venture. Bishop Nareg Alemezian, who was a
member of the conference’s organizing committee, also thanked all the
participants and his colleagues for their efforts and contribution.
His Holiness once more emphasized the leading role of the Catholicosate of
Cilicia in driving to new levels research on all fields within Armenology
and the Armenian culture. He praised everyone for their contribution and the
efforts of the organizing committee headed by Bishop Alemezian. The
Catholicos also commended the management and staff of the Mashdots Library
in Yerevan. He expressed his great praise for the Armenian Affairs
Department of the Gulbenkian Foundation and its director Dr. Zaven Yegavian,
whose efforts have led to important contributions by the foundation in
spreading Armenian cultural values.
Commending the Armenia-based intellectuals for their active participation,
the Pontiff said: "For us, there is no "you and us". What is yours is also
ours and what is ours is also yours. We should cooperate with the vision of
one entity in researching our nation’s collective richness- our values."
Speaking about the contribution of the Armenian Church to Armenology, the
Catholicos said: "From ancient till present times, Armenology has been an
important field for our church. Our church has considered Armenology as one
of the most basic areas of its mission of faith, because for our church
there are no dividing lines between faith and culture. This is how the
Catholicosate of Cilicia has functioned and continues to function.
Therefore, Armenology continues to be an important field for our Holy See.
This conference came to re-emphasize our obligation in this direction and to
say that we are obliged to continue organizing such meetings. We took a step
further in this respect in the last few days." The Armenian Spiritual Leader
offered special praise to the foreign Armenologists, considering that their
work in this area transforms them to Armenians to a certain extent. "Due to
your interest towards our culture and history, you also are Armenians for
us," he said.
In the last section of his remarks, the Pontiff explained his viewpoints
with respect to future conferences with due attention to the previously
expressed opinions by the participants. The widespread use of technology,
the publication of sources by Armenology institutes and the prospects for
researching the unknown period extending between the fall of the Cilician
Kingdom and the 20th century raised the interest of all.
The last day’s sessions were dedicated to the arts developed in Cilician
Armenia as follows. During the morning session (9:00-10:30 AM), Levon
Tchoukaszian presented the topic "Introduction to the Cilician manuscripts
and miniatures, and decorated initials of Toros Roslin and the art of
Mediterranean area"; Lilit Zakarian’s topic was entitles "Duccio or Roslin
[analysis of a miniature]. Remon Kevorkian chaired this session. Azad
Bozoyian chaired the following session, during which papers were presented
by John Carswell (Toros Roslin and Jerusalem revisited) and Silvia Adjemian
(The Cilician manuscripts in Aleppo).
The first afternoon session featured presentations by Valentino Pace on
"Artistic contacts between Italy and Cilicia in the wider frame of the
Byzantine world" and Vartouhi Pambagian on "A historical Cilician
embroidery." The session was convened by Armen-Claude Moutafian. The final
session included a presentation by Michele Bacci on "Unpublished 14th
century murals in the Armenian church of Famagusta."
The concluding session of the conference indeed became a new beginning. The
gathering of so many Armenian and foreign historians, Armenologists,
philosophers and art experts in the Catholicosate of Cilicia was a
historical event. Through his presence at all the sessions of the
conference, analytical comments and concluding remarks at the end of each
session, Catholicos Aram I became the driving force behind the conference.
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View the photos here:
c/Photos/Photos86.htm
http://www.armenianorthodoxc hurch.org/v04/doc/Photos/Photos87.htm
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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.