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 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF BOOK EXHIBITION HELD IN ANTELIAS
The 30th annual book fare of the Catholicosate of Cilicia was launched this
Sunday in the Catholicosate’s headquarters in Antelias.
Following the Holy Mass in the Cathedral, the procession of Cilician
Brotherhood members and Seminary students headed by His Holiness Aram I
walked towards the Cilicia Museum’s surroundings, where the exhibition was
set up a in huge tent put up for this purpose.
Religious officials, intellectuals, students and book lovers, a large number
of believers and journalists attended the opening. The Catholicosate’s
Seminary and Sunday School students delivered a beautiful cultural program
venerating Armenian culture.
The exhibition includes several publications from Lebanese Armenian and
foreign publishing houses, as well as individual authors and publishing
houses within the Catholicosate.
In his opening remarks for the event, Lebanese Armenian poet, intellectual
and Seminary professor Sarkis Giragossian spoke about the Catholicosate of
Cilicia’s cultural mission of the past decades particularly in the field of
supporting the publication and promotion of Armenian books.
In his address on this occasion, His Holiness spoke about the commitment
Armenians should have towards their cultural values and particularly towards
Armenian books. His Holiness stressed that the absence of Armenians from
such cultural events is unacceptable and is a sign of their disengagement
from their Armenian roots. The Pontiff praised the growing scope of the
annual exhibition over time, adding that the preservation of Armenian
culture in the Diaspora is an indivisible part of the Catholicosate of
Cilicia’s mission. His Holiness remembered that Armenian book fare launched
for the first time by the late His Holiness Karekin II of Cilicia, who
enthusiastically supported the recurrence of the event year after year.
Referring to the spiritual and intellectual values of Armenians, His
Holiness considered the Armenian book to be our spiritual intellectual
bread. In a graphical comparison, he spoke about the long queues that used
form in front of bakeries, pointing out that the queues in front of the
"value" bakeries have started to recede. The number of individuals reading
Armenian books and concerned with the state of the Armenian book has
decreased.
The Pontiff commended all the organizations and individuals supporting the
Armenian book. He pledged that the Holy See of Cilicia will continue its
mission with the same commitment not only in Antelias but also in all the
dioceses, preserving Armenian cultural and spiritual values and the heritage
of our ancestors.
The exhibition showcases spiritual, philosophical, literary, pedagogical
books and books on the church, literary criticism, music and culture. The
exhibition will remain open until December 21, 2008, from 9 AM in the
morning till 7 PM in the evening.
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View the photos here:
tos/Photos342.htm
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
