Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

On July 23, in the “Vatche and Tamar Manoukian” Library of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the high presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; a presentation of a book entitled “The Church and Constitutional Culture” was held. During the presentation, the collection book entitled “Concordance of the Book of the Armenian Rules” (the author - Aram Martirosyan, the editor – Very Rev. Fr. Proto-Archimandrite Shahe Ananyan); and the collective monograph entitled “The Value Roots of Constitutional Culture in the Folds of the Millennial Annals of the Armenian People” (the authors – Azat Bozoyan, Alexan Hakobyan, Artur Vagharshyan, Arman Yeghiazaryan, Artak Movsisyan, Gagik Harutyunyan, Grigor Tananyan, Harutyun Marutyan, Narine Mirzoyan; the editors – Gagik Harutyunyan, Artak Movsisyan, Rev. Fr. Ararat Poghosyan, Sargis Melkonyan); published by the Publishing Department of the Mother See, were presented.

Rev. Fr. Ararat Poghosyan, Director of the “Vatche and Tamar Manoukian” Library and the Publishing Department of the Mother See, delivered the opening remarks of the presentation. Then the Pontiff of All Armenians conveyed His Pontifical Blessings and message to the attendees.

In His speech, His Holiness stated in part:

“Dear participants, 

Welcome to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the God-built, cherished sanctuary of our people. 

We have united on the happy occasion of the presentation of the two valuable works published in the Mother See: “The Value Roots of Constitutional Culture in the Folds of the Millennial Annals of the Armenian People”, and ““Concordance of the Book of the Armenian Rules”, for which we are grateful to Almighty God. These books prepared with attention and zeal, are on the table of our people today, and, especially, to the attention of the specialists in the field of law and history, and a wide range of spiritual and scientific-educational circles.

The authors of the books are honorable sons of our Church, patriotic people dedicated to our country and nation, who have rich merits in the fields of science and education: teaching in various higher institutions, including the Gevorkian Theological Seminary over the years. We are glad to have the opportunity today, to extend our Pontifical Blessings and gratitude to you, esteemed authors, as well as, to the clergy and laity who have contributed to the publication of the books. On this occasion, we would like to express our special appreciation to Mr. Gagik Harutyunyan, for initiating and preparing the publication of the book entitled “The Value Roots of Constitutional Culture in the Folds of the Millennial Annals of the Armenian People”; and honorable Mr. Aram Martirosyan, for the preparation of the book entitled “Concordance of the Armenian Rules”.

Beloved ones, the published books are vivid evidence of the creative and progressive mind of our people. These extensive works present the legislative culture been formed in the Armenian reality since the ancient times of the history, anchored on the spiritual and intellectual heritage of our people, Christian values and traditions. The historical experience of the regulation of our national-ecclesiastical life, the principles of legal regulation, today must help us to organize and strengthen our spiritual and state life in  more harmonious way; to make the normal development of our public life based on the law easier.

Indeed, the legal state can be built on the basis of high legal awareness, as the legal-value perceptions that form the core of the public recognition, shape the public behavior.

Justice and law have divine origin, and are among the basic principles of the Bible with the basic values of love, hope and faith. Justice and the rule of law must remain strong in our lives, both in accordance with the requirements of the established laws and in the spirit of Christian love, contributing to the consolidation and unification of the society. The solidarity of the society is firm with justice, with non-discriminatory application of the law; it is the evidence of the expression of the Lord-ordered love and faith.

On the basis of these values, the Book of Rules of Our Church, the books of law were prepared, with which our people were guided even in the absence of statehood, keeping their unity, identity and organizing their national-ecclesiastical life. We believe that the Concordance of the Armenian Rules, published by thematic grouping, is the first step in the initiative of a new Book of Rules that meets the nowadays requirements of our Church. The creation of a complete and up-to-date Book of Rules is on the agenda today, in terms of developing the Church-State and Church-Society relations on the basis of traditional և modern realities. 

May such legal works enrich the scientific and educational background of our people, strengthening the consciousness of the rule of law and the zeal to establish justice in our lives, as the psalmist says, God “shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness”(Psalm 9:9).

We ask the Almighty God for health and new successes to the authors of the books. God Bless you all and all our people. Amen”.

On the occasion of the publication of the works, the President of the RA Constitutional Court Mr. Arman Dilanyan delivered his greeting remarks, emphasizing the importance of the work done.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the “Constitutional Culture” International Analytical Center, Doctor of Law, Professor Gagik Harutyunyan, delivered a speech on the collective monograph entitled “The Value Roots of Constitutional Culture in the Folds of the Millennial Annals of the Armenian People”; in particular, speaking about the vision of the study of constitutional culture, and the need to popularize the historical heritage of the Armenian legal mind. He also expressed his gratitude to the Pontiff of All Armenians for supporting and sponsoring the implementation of this important initiative.

Professor of History of Law Aram Martirosyan (Sorbonne University), delivered a speech on the work, formation and modern applicability of the “Concordance of the Armenian Rules” collection book. Very Rev. Fr. Archimandrite Shahe Ananyan, Head of the Inter- Church Relations Department of the Mother See, spoke about the important contribution of Professor Aram Martirosyan in the principles of the formation and preparation of the concordance.

The presentation was concluded with the Protector Prayer of the Armenian Patriarch, which is followed by the traditional Ginedzon ceremony.