Tag: Armenian architecture

In-Person Event with architect Ronald Altoon on March 30th after Badarak

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The Zohrab Center cordially invites you to an in-person event jointly hosted by St. Vartan Cathedral after Badarak on Sunday, March 30th. Architect Ronald Altoon will be presenting his work on churches and monasteries of Armenia to be featured in a forthcoming book.

A former National President of The American Institute of Architects, Ronald Altoon (https://altoon.com/) is an internationally recognized architect with numerous awards for design excellence.  He has planned or implemented projects totaling over 225 million square feet constructed in the United States and in 46 foreign countries.  Besides serving on multiple university, civic, cultural, and philanthropic boards, he has taught at USC and UCLA and has lectured at many other prominent universities.  He is author of seven books on design as well as one currently in final editing, Monasteries and Churches of Ancient Armenia.

A third generation American Armenian, Altoon organized and led an American Institute of Architects Task Force to Armenia twice in 1989 following the horrific Spitak Earthquake to create a master plan to rebuild the epicenter city.  For his efforts there he was awarded the Memorial Medal from the Politburo of the Republic of Amenia, S.S.R.  He designed the technologically state-of-the-art academic Avedisian building for the American University of Armenia, and advised the AMAA on the design of the K-12 Avedisian High School & Community Center in Yerevan, acting as sustainable design champion achieving LEED Silver and LEED Earth certifications.

NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Eighteenth-Century Hmayil (Prayer Scroll) by Matthew J. Sarkisian

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An Early-Eighteenth-Century Hmayil (Armenian Prayer Scroll): Introduction, Facsimile, Transcription and Annotated Translation (New York, NY: Tarkmaneal Press, 2024), by Matthew J. Sarkisian, edited and with a foreword by Jesse S. Arlen is now available in print in both hardcover and paperback formats.

The volume is the first in the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center’s Sources from the Armenian Christian Tradition series and was previously released online in digital format in 2022. The revised print edition features some updates and corrections and full-color photographs.

Cover of Matthew J. Sarkisian. An Early-Eighteenth-Century Hmayil (Armenian Prayer Scroll): Introduction, Facsimile, Transcription and Annotated Translation. Edited and with a Foreword by Jesse S. Arlen. Sources from the Armenian Christian Tradition, volume 1. New York, NY: Tarkmaneal Press, 2024 (revised print edition)

A hmayil is a handwritten or printed scroll containing prayers, supplications, Psalms, Gospel passages, hymns, and incantations. These scrolls, often richly illustrated, were a popular medium used for protection against maladies and other evils during the early modern period and were often carried or worn like a talisman. In this volume, Matthew J. Sarkisian and editor Jesse S. Arlen provide the Armenian text and an English translation of one such scroll printed in Constantinople in 1727. Together with facsimile images of the hmayil, this volume offers the reader an experience similar to unrolling and reading the original scroll. The translation is accompanied by an introduction, extensive annotation, and appendices, which bring to light the Scriptural and theological background as well as the folk and traditional characteristics of the hmayil’s texts and illustrations, making this fascinating artifact accessible to the general reader in the twenty-first century.

The publication of this volume was supported by a generous grant from Souren A. Israelyan. The book is available to purchase on Amazon.

Watch the Recording of David Hotson on Saint Sarkis Church

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If you missed David Hotson’s talk on “Raising Awareness of Armenian History through the Design of Saint Sarkis Armenian Church” then you can watch the recording of the talk below (or a previous and similar talk given at an international conference on Eastern Christian architecture and Modernity at Fordham University.


“The Making of Saint Sarkis Church,” Fordham University, June 1, 2023


“Raising Awareness of Armenian History through the Design of Saint Sarkis Armenian Church,” Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center, Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), November 1, 2023

REMINDER: Architect David Hotson to Speak on “Raising Awareness of Armenian History through the design of Saint Sarkis Armenian Church”

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Come to Kavookjian Hall at the Diocesan Center this Wednesday, Nov. 1st, to hear architect David Hotson speak on “Raising Awareness of Armenian History through the Design of Saint Sarkis Armenian Church,” the award-winning church in Dallas, Texas. A reception will follow the illustrated presentation, which is organized by the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center under the auspices of Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan, primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America (Eastern).

Architect David Hotson to Speak on “The Making of Saint Sarkis Armenian Church,” the Award-Winning Church in Dallas, Texas

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On Wednesday, November 1st at 7:00pm ET at Kavookjian Hall of the Diocesan Center in New York, under the auspices of Diocesan primate, Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan, and organized by the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center, architect David Hotson will give an illustrated presentation on “The Making of Saint Sarkis Church in Dallas, Texas,” which was named the US Building of the Year 2022 by World-Architects.

David Hotson_Architect is an architectural design firm based in New York City. 

Founded by David Hotson in 1991, the office works on private cultural, institutional and residential projects located anywhere in the world with current projects in New York City, the Hudson Valley, Vermont, Texas, and the Caribbean.

The firm focusses on architectural space as the primary medium of design, shaping figural spatial volumes filled with natural light.

The office has been featured in The New Yorker, the New York Times, Architectural Record, Interior Design, Detail, The Plan, Architectural Digest and many other publications, and has been featured on architecture and design websites in over thirty countries.

The office has been recognized by the international Architizer A+ Awards program, and has received a ‘Best of Ten’ Award from the editors of Interior Design Magazine, who selected the SkyHouse penthouse as the single most extraordinary apartment project from a decade of ‘Best of Year’ Award program winners.

In January 2023 the Saint Sarkis Church complex was designated as the 2022 ‘US Building of the Year’ on the influential ‘World-Architects’ web platform.

David Hotson received a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree from the University of Waterloo in southern Ontario Canada and Master of Architecture degree from the Yale University School of Architecture.  He is a registered architect in the state of New York.

David Hotson to present St. Sarkis Armenian Church (Dallas) at Fordham’s International Conference on Sacred Space

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“The Shape of the Sacred: Eastern Christianity and Architectural Modernity,” an international conference organized by the Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America opened this evening, Tuesday, May 30th, at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Campus.

This three-day public international symposium explores the challenges of the dialogue between contemporary architecture and theological concepts of space. Sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in association with Fordham University, the symposium will be the first of its kind in North America. It honors the recently built and consecrated Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, located at the World Trade Center and designed by Santiago Calatrava. The symposium includes a special event at Saint Nicholas Shrine featuring a welcome address by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and a keynote conversation.

To find information on the conference schedule, which is free and open to the public, visit: The Shape of the Sacred: Eastern Christianity and Architectural Modernity | Fordham

To register visit: Forever Fordham – The Shape of the Sacred: Eastern Christianity and Architectural Modernity – Registrant

For those unable to attend in person, the conference may be livestreamed at the following link: https://publicorthodoxy.org/the-shape-of-the-sacred/

On Thursday morning, David Hotson, architect, will present “The Making of Saint Sarkis Church, Dallas” on a panel titled “Tradition Today and Tomorrow.” Saint Sarkis Church is also one of the sacred buildings featured on a poster at the exhibit that opened at the start of the conference.

Saluting a “Soldier of the Light” March 24 at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary

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1767_001The Zohrab Information Center and St. Nersess Seminary will co-sponsor a day-long symposium dedicated to the life and vision of His Holiness Catholicos Karekin Hovsepian, a true titan among the Armenian people in modern times.

The symposium is titled, Soldier of the Light: The Aspirations of Catholicos Karekin Hovsepian.” It marks the 150th anniversary of Hovsepian’s birth and the centennial of the Battle of Sardarabad (in which he fought). It will take place on Saturday, March 24, at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, 486 Bedford Road, Armonk, NY.

Speakers include Dr. Abraham Terian, Dr. Roberta Ervine, Dr. Christine Maranci, Rev. Fr. Karekin Kasparian, and Mr. Nubar Kupelian. V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan, Director of the Zohrab Center and Professor at St. Nersess Seminary, will moderate. Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian will preside.

A Man of Staggering Accomplishments Abounding in Grace 

HovsepiantsBefore being elected Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Catholicos Karekin Hovsepian (1867-1952) served as Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America during the turbulent years following the assassination of Archbishop Ghevont Tourian in New York in 1933. Born in Artsakh, Armenia, he earned graduate degrees from the best universities in Europe, encouraged the Armenian troops on the front lines of the Battle of Sardarabad, chaired the Department of Archaeology and Art History at Yerevan State University, led pioneering archaeological expeditions in western Armenia, published learned books on the art of medieval Armenian manuscript illumination, and previously obscure chapters in Armenian history, and inspired countless people through his preaching and teaching. Through it all Hovsepian tirelessly summoned his flock to rise up from pettiness and division, and to embrace the dignity, richness, and eternal values of Christian life as embodied in Armenian art, culture and history and above all, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Church.

On this occasion a volume of selected essays and sermons by the Catholicos, translated for the first time into English by Dr. Ervine and Fr. Findikyan, has been published. Those present for the symposium will receive a complimentary copy of Toward Light and Life: Reflections of Catholicos Karekin Hovsepian.

The March 24 conference starts at 10:30 a.m. (10 a.m. check-in) and concludes at 4 p.m., with a light lunch served at midday. The symposium and lunch are free and open to all interested.

Please contact St. Nersess Seminary at (914) 273-0200 to reserve your seat. SPACE IS LIMITED.

The event has is generously underwritten by Mr. and Mrs. Berge and Vera Setrakian.

Double Header Next Week at Zohrab: Armenian Saints, Bible, Churches

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2016-05 Mren
Prof. Christina Maranci will explore the 7th-century Armenian Church of Mren on Thursday, May 26 at ZIC.

The Zohrab Center will feature two extraordinary opportunities for Armenian learning, enrichment and conversation next week.

Saints and the Armenian People

On Tuesday, May 24 Dr. Marianna Apresyan, Instructor of Theology at the Gevorkyan Seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin, will lecture on the Saints in the Life and Worship of the Armenian People [Սուրբերը հայ ժողովուրդի կեանքին ու պաշտամունքին մէջ]. She will lecture in Armenian but a printed text of her talk in English translation will be provided.

Also participating will be His Eminence Abp. Yeznik Petrosyan of Holy Etchmiadzin, who is a long-time member of the Armenian Bible Society. He will speak about the work of the Bible Society in Armenia to translate the Bible into Modern Armenia and to disseminate it.

Three Early Armenian Churches and their Message

2010-05 VigilantPowersBookOn Thursday, May 26, Professor Christina Maranci, Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Associate Professor of Armenian Art at Tufts University, will deliver a talk entitled, Vigilant Powers: Ethics, Art History and Preservation of Armenian Churches. 

Dr. Maranci, returns to the Zohrab Center to present her new book, Vigilant Powers: Three Churches of Medieval Armenia. The leading historian of Armenian art and architecture in the West today, she will present the case of three iconic Armenian Churches built during the “global wars” of the seventh century: Mren, Zvartnots and Ptghni. Examining the meaning of their unique designs, she will show how Armenian architects were closely engaged with both Byzantine imperial interests and with contemporary events in the Holy Land, as she uncovers Christian Armenia’s vibrant visual culture, its message, and its precarious state today.

Copies of Dr. Maranci’s book will be available for sale.

2016-05 MaranciVigilantPowersFlyer.001CLICK HERE to download a full-color flyer.

Both events will take place in the Guild Hall of the Armenian Diocese in New York at 7PM. All are warmly invited to attend the free events. Each will be followed by a reception and conversation.

For further information contact the Zohrab Center at zohrabcenter@armeniandiocese.org or (212) 686-0710.

 

What Makes Armenian Art “Armenian”? Lecture by Dr. Helen Evans. Thursday, April 30

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Dr. Helen Evans of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will discuss the unique features of Armenian art at an illustrated lecture at the Zohrab Center.
Dr. Helen Evans of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will discuss the unique features of Armenian art at an illustrated lecture at the Zohrab Center.

The distinguished specialist in Early Christian, Byzantine and Armenian art, Dr. Helen Evans, will give an illustrated lecture entitled, Armenian Art: Voice of a People at the Zohrab Center of the Diocese of the Armenian Church (Eastern) on Thursday, April 30 at 7PM.

A visual tradition of the Armenian people that spans many centuries and prosperous communities from the Armenian homeland across the globe, Armenian art is at the same a highly specialized and a vast phenomenon. Dr. Evans will explore what makes a work “Armenian” by looking at key works of art of several historical periods. She will consider the role of the Armenian communities producing the works as well as that of the varied peoples with whom Armenians were in contact in attempting to define new and old ways to make Armenian art compelling not only to its people but also to the larger world.

Helen Evans is the Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator for Byzantine Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She earned her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. After joining the curatorial staff of the Museum in 1991, she installed the Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Byzantine Art, the first galleries dedicated to Byzantine art in an encyclopedic museum, in 2000 and expanded them in 2008. Dr. Evans has lectured widely in the United States and abroad and has taught at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University, Columbia University, Hunter College, the University of Chicago, and Oberlin College. She is a member of the Board of the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Holy Cross College; treasurer and a founding member of the Association of Art Museum Curators; and former chair of the Editorial Board of the Art Bulletin.

2015-04 HelenEvansFlyerCLICK HERE to download a full-color flyer.

The lecture is free and open to the public. A wine and cheese reception will follow. For further information contact the Zohrab Center at zohrabcenter@armeniandiocese.org or (212) 686-0710.

Where Armenian Architecture and Worship Meet. A Presentation by Prof. Christina Maranci on September 25

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Sculpted images on the exterior of the 7th century Armenian Cathedral of Mren may reveal more than meets the eye.
Sculpted images on the exterior of the 7th century Armenian Cathedral of Mren may reveal more than meets the eye.

The distinguished expert in Armenian Art and Architecture, Professor Christina Maranci, will present an illustrated lecture at the Zohrab Center on Thursday, September 25 at 7PM entitled, The Great Outdoors: Liturgical Encounters with the Early Armenian Church.

Dr. Maranci is the Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Ozetemel Associate Professor of Armenian Art at Tufts University.

She will present the results of recent research on the exterior structure and decoration of certain medieval Armenian churches. Maranci believes that the intricate carved images and the epigraphic writings that adorn the exterior walls of many Armenian Churches were not produced simply to beautify the buildings. Instead, she suggests that the Armenian architects and artisans were guided by liturgical services that took place outside the church. Maranci supports her view with Armenian hymns and rituals found in medieval Armenian liturgical books.

This coordinated study of architecture and liturgy provides a potential material setting for liturgical texts, suggests new interpretations of the relief sculpture, and offers insight into the medieval experience of the Armenian Church.

Prof. Christina Maranci is an expert on medieval Armenian architecture.
Prof. Christina Maranci is an expert on medieval Armenian architecture.

Prof. Maranci received her Ph.D. from Princeton University in the Department of Art and Archaeology in 1998. She has lectured and published widely, particularly in the area of Armenian architecture. Her books include Medieval Armenian Architecture: Constructions of Race and Nation (Peeters, 2001), and Vigilant Powers: Three Churches of Early Medieval Armenia (Brepols, forthcoming). Her articles have appeared in the Revue des études arméniennes, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Gesta, the Journal for the Society of Architectural Historians, the Art Bulletin, the Oxford Companion to Architecture, and the Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages.

Her recent work on the Cathedral of Mren (Kars region, Eastern Turkey) led to the successful application for its inclusion in the World Monuments Fund Watch List for 2014-17. She is campaigning to increase awareness of the fragile condition of this significant monument and others in the Kars/Ani region.

2014 MaranciGreatOutdoorsFlyer.001CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A FLYER.

The lecture will take place in the Guild Hall of the Armenian Diocese, 630 Second Avenue, New York. It is free and open to the public. A reception and refreshments will follow.

For more information contact the Zohrab Center at zohrabcenter@armeniandiocese.org or (212) 686-0710. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter #LiturgicalEncounters.