Tag: Armenian Church History

Learn Classical Armenian (Krapar, the Language of the Armenian Church) in the New Year!

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Let your 2024 New’s Year resolution be to learn classical Armenian (Krapar)!

Zohrab Center director Dr. Jesse S. Arlen is offering a 12-week course (Jan. 8 – Mar 29) that will introduce participants to ancient or “classical” Armenian, the literary form of the language from the fifth to the nineteenth century and the liturgical language of the Armenian Orthodox Church today. An Indo-European language, Armenian is distantly related to Greek, Latin, English, and other western languages. It has a vast library of literature comprised of original compositions by literary and theological masters such as St. Gregory of Narek and St. Nersess Shnorhali, as well as important translations from Greek, Syriac, Latin, and Arabic, among other languages, some of which survive only in Armenian translation.

All sessions will take place by Zoom and no prior experience or knowledge is required. Students will learn the Armenian alphabet, basic grammar, and vocabulary, and will read simple prose narratives, while also gaining an appreciation for the culture and tradition of one of the ancient Christian peoples of the East. The course will be of interest to the faithful of the Armenian Church, as well as anyone with an interest in classics, medieval/byzantine/near eastern studies, biblical studies, theology, and liturgy, and will cover the equivalent of a one-semester university class for only $500. Minimum of 5 students required in order to run the course. A continuation class will be offered based on student demand. Email jarlen@fordham.edu to express interest and for scheduling.

Watch the Recording of the St. Nersess Shnorhali Conference in Rome on YouTube Now

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The international conference “Plenitude of Grace, Plenitude of Humanity: St Nerses Shnorhali at the Juncture of Millennia” took place Thursday and Friday (Nov 30–Dec 1) at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. The recordings of all sessions from both days are available to view online through the YouTube Channel of the Pontifical Oriental Institute or below.A conference flyer and schedule are also available to view below.

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).

6-part lecture series on St. Nersess Shnorhali available to view on YouTube

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The Vemkar 6-part lecture series “Entering the World, Mind, and Soul of St. Nersess Shnorhali” is available to view on YouTube. Organized in commemoration of the 850th anniversary of the saint’s repose and in response to the pontifical encyclical of His Holiness Karekin II issued earlier this year (ARM ENG), the lecture series began on August 22nd and continued on consecutive Tuesday evenings through September 26th.

The six lectures may be viewed below or on the Vemkar YouTube channel.

Lecture One by Dr. Roberta R. Ervine — “Becoming Shnorhali: On the Context of Catholicos Nerses IV Klayets’i

Lecture Two by Dr. Jesse S. Arlen — “The Poetic World of St. Nersess Shnorhali”

Lecture Three by Matthew J. Sarkisian — “Odes of St. Nersess the Graceful”

Lecture Four by Dn. Hovannes Khosdeghian — “Today the Ineffable (Այսօր անճառ): A Reading of St. Nersess Shnorhali’s Good Friday Song”

Lecture Five by Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan – “St. Nersess Shnorhali and the Threefold Way of Theosis”

Lecture Six by Dn. Andrew Kayaian – “St. Nersess’ Ecumenical Relations with the Byzantines”

Zoom Lecture Series on St. Nersess Shnorhali– Aug 22 to Sept 26

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The Zohrab Information Center cordially invites you to attend the Vemkar Zoom lecture series, entitled “Entering the World, Mind, and Soul of St. Nersess Shnorhali.” Organized in commemoration of the 850th anniversary of the saint’s repose and in response to the pontifical encyclical of His Holiness Karekin II issued earlier this year (ARM ENG), the lecture series begins a week from today on Tuesday, August 22nd at 7:00pm ET and runs six consecutive Tuesday evenings through September 26th.

Please register in advance for the Zoom lecture series.

A flyer with the speaker and title info for each session is available below:

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.

A VISUAL AND POETIC JOURNEY THROUGH MONUMENTS OF ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH

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On Pentecost Sunday, May 28th, St. Vartan Cathedral and the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center will host a book presentation by author David Karamian with a piano performance and poetry recital after Badarak in Kavookjian Hall. All are welcome to attend!

In his book, Armenia – The Lone Stone, David Karamian brings a deeply personal and spiritual perspective to his Armenian heritage through breathtaking color and black-and-white photographs of the most spectacular monasteries and monuments in Armenia and Artsakh, taken over nearly two decades. While The Lone Stone can be experienced merely on a visual level, it has a multi-themed focus and is complimented by Armenia’s rugged and magnificent geography, architectural innovations, and aesthetic achievements in art, poetry, music, and literature, selections from which it contains within its pages. Armenia – The Lone Stone is a passionate love letter to Armenians everywhere, as well as an intelligent and emotionally compelling introduction to this extraordinary country, aimed at Armenians and non-Armenians alike.

David Karamian has worked and consulted for five Fortune 20 companies (United Technologies, Ford, GM, HP, and Microsoft) and has visited over 25 countries on five continents. In the mid-2000s, he was the founder and CEO of two technology firms (Siamanto and PACE). He is a part-time artist and photographer who loves history and architecture, especially in Armenia. His abstract photos have been published in the magazine Black and White Photography, and his book Armenia – The Lone Stone has been featured in Armenian Weekly, the Armenian Museum of Fresno, and the Armenian Museum of Moscow. He is the founder and CEO of NorArtGallery Publishing and is working on the second volume of The Lone Stone, as well as a book of his abstract photographs.

Dr. Jesse S. Arlen’s St. Nersess Lecture Series on Armenian Histories now available on YouTube

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Zohrab/Fordham Postdoc and Director Dr. Jesse S. Arlen’s Fall Public Lecture series at Saint Nersess Armenian Seminary is now available to stream on YouTube. The six sessions cover the major medieval Armenian historians and histories composed between the fifth and tenth centuries. Part II of the series will take place in the beginning of the Spring 2022 semester.

Lecture 1: An Overview of the Armenian Historical Tradition
Lecture 2: The Conversion and Early History of Armenia: Agathangelos, Epic Histories, & Moses of Khoren
Lecture 3: Narrating the Religious Struggles with Zoroastrian Iran: Ghazar of Parpi and Yeghishe
Lecture 4: Early Engagements with Islam: The Histories of Sebeos and Ghewond
Lecture 5: Regional Histories: History of Caucasian Albania & History of the House of the Artsrunik
Lecture 6: End of the First Millenium: John the Catholicos, Ukhtanes, and Stepanos of Taron

A playlist of the full series is available here.

A resource guide is available here.

Series Description: The Armenian historical tradition is rich and well developed, with texts written in this genre produced continuously from the first century after the invention of the alphabet up until the modern period. Of all the Armenian literary genres, it is the histories that have received the most attention from modern scholars, thanks to their importance for our knowledge of the Near East and Mediterranean. Nevertheless, the Armenians who wrote their histories did not conceive of history in the same way we do today, nor did they approach their topics with the same preoccupations and concerns of modern historians. In this six-week course, we will seek to approach the Armenian histories on their own terms, attempting to understand the context in which they were produced, the religious and imaginative world of the authors who composed them, and the goals and purposes that motivated both the patrons who sponsored them and the authors who wrote them. Proceeding chronologically, this semester our goal is to cover twelve major Armenian histories from the fifth to tenth centuries (about two per session). At the same time, we will introduce participants to books and online resources where they may acquire the primary texts and gain access to important secondary materials to facilitate deeper study on their own.

The Music of the Armenian Church. Presentation of a New Book by Krikor Pidedjian. Thursday, April 7

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2016-14 PidedjianFlyerA new book by Krikor Pidedjian entitled, Հայ Եկեղեցւոյ Երաժշտութիւնը / The Music of the Armenian Church: An Historical Survey, will be presented at the Zohrab Center this Thursday, April 7 at 7:00PM in the Guild Hall of the Armenian Diocese in New York.

Mr. Pidedjian, an accomplished composer, choral conductor and musicologist specializing in the history, theory and repertoire of Armenian sacred and secular music, has received awards and commendations internationally for his artistic and scholarly contributions. Most recently, he was recognized by the faculty of the Komitas Conservatory in Yerevan, Armenia, where he has lectured frequently. In 2008 His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II awarded him the St. Nersess the Graceful medal for outstanding service to the Armenian Church.

The new book, written primarily in Armenian includes an extensive summary in English and is profusely illustrated with musical examples. The book has been published by the Diocese of the Armenian Church (Eastern).

Presenting the book will be Deacon Rubik Mailian, Director of of Sacred Music and Pastoral Assistant at St. John’s Armenian Church (Southfield, Michigan). Deacon Mailian will speak in English before Mr. Pidedjian makes remarks in Armenian.

Krikor Pidedjian was born into a musical family in Alexandria, Egypt. He studied in the Seminary of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, where, concurrent with studies at the Beirut Conservatory, he directed the St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral Choir. He received a B.S. from the Mannes School of Music and M.A. from Hunter College, both in New York.He is the founder of numerous choirs and ensembles which, under his direction, have performed Armenian sacred and popular music on stages throughout the world. He has lectured internationally on Armenian music and published extensively. He has received numerous awards and commendations for his musical and scholarly work, most recently by the Komitas Conservatory in Yerevan.

The book presentation is free and open to the public. Copies of Mr. Pidedjian’s book will be available for purchase. A reception will follow. For further information contact the Zohrab Information Center at zohrabcenter@armeniandiocese.org or (212) 686-0710.

CLICK HERE to download a color flyer.