Sophene Books and the Dawn of a New Era for Classical and Medieval Armenian Literature

A wonderful new publishing initiative by Sophene Books now makes classical and medieval Armenian texts available in dual language editions, with Classical Armenian and English on facing pages. Some of the texts available include Yeghishe’s History of Vardan and the Armenian War, Matthew of Edessa’s Chronicle, Sebeos’ History, and many others.

The Zohrab Information Center’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Director, Dr. Jesse S. Arlen, wrote an article for the Armenian Mirror-Spectator on the importance of this new series for all interested in Classical Armenian and its literary treasure: Sophene Books and the Dawn of a New Era for Classical and Medieval Armenian Literature

Classical Armenian with Fr. Ghevond Ajamian

The previous two sessions of the Vemkar/Zohrab Classical Armenian Series “Christ as Hope” are available to stream on YouTube. They were both led by Fr. Ghevond Ajamian of St. Sarkis Armenian Church in Dallas, TX.

The July 21st session featured Gregory of Tatev’s “Sermon on Hope (Գրիգոր Տաթեւացւոյ քարոզ վասն յուսոյ).

The July 28th session looked at funeral prayers from the Book of Rituals (Մաշտոց / Ծիսարան), comparing those said for an adult with those said for a child.

The next session, on August 4th, will be led by Fr. Nigoghos Aznavourian and will focus on a sharakan (hymn) for the Feast of the Assumption.

To register for it on Zoom, and for all future sessions in the series, please visit: https://vemkar.us/modules/christ-as-hope/live-sessions/#classical-armenian

YouTube Recording of the First Session from the Vemkar/Zohrab Classical Armenian Series “Christ as Hope”

The recording for the First Session of the Vemkar/Zohrab Classical Armenian Series “Christ as Hope” is available to stream on the Zohrab Information Center’s YouTube channel. Subscribe to the channel to be notified when future videos in the series are posted.

In the first session, Jesse Arlen, Interim Director of ZIC, presented Gregory of Narek’s “Ode for the Ascension” (Տաղ Համբարձման ի Գրիգոր Նարեկացւոյն).

After the presentation, participants engaged in 20–30 minutes of discussion.

The sessions will continue each Wednesday evening through September 1st at 7:00pm ET. Register in advance for the Zoom sessions here. No knowledge of Classical Armenian is required.

Future sessions will be led by Fr. Ghevond Ajamian, Fr. Nigoghos Aznavourian, Julia Hintlian, Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan, Ani Shahinian, and Dn. Ezras Tellalian.

Zohrab/Vemkar “Christ as Hope” Classical Armenian Series

Join the Zohrab Center and Vemkar‘s Classical Armenian Series on the theme “Christ as Hope,” where you’ll have the opportunity to read texts in Classical Armenian (Գրաբար), the liturgical language of the Armenian Church, guided by clergy, scholars, and advanced students of the language!

Through the guidance of a teacher, attendees will be introduced to a diversity of texts related to the theme of “Christ as Hope” from the Armenian Christian tradition, meditating on this theme while gaining exposure to Classical Armenian and the vast library of literary treasures written in this form of the language from the fifth to nineteenth centuries. 

The eight sessions will convene on Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm ET, from July 14 – Sept 1. Register for the Zoom sessions in advance. Come to one or all!

DateTime (EDT)TitleSpeakerZoom Link
Wednesday, July 147:00 PMSession 1Jesse ArlenREGISTER
Wednesday, July 217:00 PMSession 2Fr. Ghevond AjamianREGISTER
Wednesday, July 287:00 PMSession 3Fr. Ghevond AjamianREGISTER
Wednesday, August 47:00 PMSession 4Fr. Nigoghos AznavourianREGISTER
Wednesday, August 117:00 PMSession 5Julia HintlianREGISTER
Wednesday, August 187:00 PMSession 6Fr. Hovsep KarapetyanREGISTER
Wednesday, August 257:00 PMSession 7Ani ShahinianREGISTER
Wednesday, September 17:00 PMSession 8Dn. Ezras TellalianREGISTER

For more information, and to see a full schedule of the live sessions offered in conjunction with the lanuch of Vemkar’s new module, visit: https://vemkar.us/modules/christ-as-hope/live-sessions/