Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On the morning of September 10, in the St. John the Baptist and St. Vardan Chapel-baptistery of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; a Sunrise Service was offered, which was attended by the participants of the international conference held in the Mother See.

Following the Ecumenical Prayer, the conference continued its work. Rev. Fr. Archimandrite Garegin Hambardzumyan, Director of the Department of the Preservation of Spiritual-Cultural Heritage of Artsakh; His Grace Bishop Vertanes Abrahamyan, Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh; Mr. David Babayan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh; and Mrs. Lusine Karakhanyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Artsakh, delivered their messages to the participants of the conference.

The messages particularly emphasized the need to prevent encroachments on the Armenian cultural and historical heritage in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan after the last war, as well as the importance of the inter-religious dialogue as one of the most effective means of combating peaceful settlement of conflicts, national discrimination and intolerance. The role of the Armenian Apostolic Church and various Christian structures in this process was highly appreciated.

Then, Rev. Christian Krieger, President of the Conference of European Churches (“Security and Preservation of the Places of Worship and Religious Monuments in Europe”); Mr. Simon Maghakyan, Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Colorado, USA (“Preventing cultural genocide in Artsakh through religious freedom”); Dr. Hamlet Petrosyan, Head of the Department of Cultural Studies, YSU, Armenia (“Cultural heritage in the target of attacks. Tigranakert in Artsakh”); Mr. Gegham Stepanyan, Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh (“Acts of vandalism of Azerbaijan towards Artsakh spiritual-cultural heritage and religious rights and freedoms of the people of Artsakh”); Ms. Tasoula Hadjitofi, Author, Cultural Activist and Entrepreneur, Netherlands (“Rekigious heritage as a means to promote peace and reconciliation”); Dr. George Kiraz, Director of Beth Mardutho and Editor-in Chief of Gorgias Press, USA (“Syriac-Armenian Cultural Exchange: How to preserve a unique historical heritage?”); Dr. Christina Maranci, Professor at Tufts University, Art History Department, USA (“The Armenian Monuments of Kars/Ani: What are the Lessons for Artsakh?”); Dr. Rachel Goshgarian, Associate Professor, Department of History, Lafayette Collage, Easton, USA (“Living with the Destroyed Monuments of the Dead and Departed in Turkey”); Dr. Jasmine Dum-Tragut, Director of the Center for the Study of the Christian East at the University of Salzburg, Austria (“Minority Cultural and Historic Heritage Preservation and Protection”); presented reports.

Following  the reports, the conference concluded its work.          

On September 11, the members of the Assembly will visit the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, the Armenian Genocide Museum, the  Matenadaran (Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts) and the Museums  of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.