On Tuesday, June 12th, 2018, 13 graduates received certificates for successfully completing the three-year program in Armenology from the Educational-Armenological Department of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.
The Armenological Center was launched in 2012-2013 under the Educational-Armenological Department of the Catholicosate of Cilicia. The late Sarkis Guiragossian directed the program for the first three years and after his unfortunate passing Jirayr Tanielian was appointed as the director.
The ceremony commenced with the entrance of the student procession, after which Mr. Tanielian gave his speech, where he briefly introduced the Armenological program. He stated that the Catholicosate of Cilicia has always been a patron of the Armenian Identity and dedicated a great amount of its mission in preservation of the Armenian Heritage, especially the Western Armenian language. He added that “His Holiness Aram I plays a significant role in this field through various initiatives such as armenological publications, conferences, lectures, the Western Armenian language protection committee and many more programs.
The speaker on behalf of student’s body, Ms. Maral Gharibian, took the stage and thanked His Holiness for the opportunity presented to them at the Armenological Center, and promised to follow the Catholicos’ lead in preserving the Armenian language.
At the end of the ceremony, His Holiness Aram I delivered his pontifical speech. He addressed the challenges that the armenological field faces today and affirmed that the Catholicosate of Cilicia will continue promoting the Armenian heritage. His Holiness stated that the Armenological program has prospered since its establishment in 2012 and will continue to advance its program in the coming years, and he invited all those interested in the field to join.
During the ceremony student from the Armenian Theological Seminary Garabed Balian and Garabed Eordekian recited poems by prominent Armenian poets Mushegh Iskhan (Kirker Sireli) and Karnig Attarian (Hayasdan) respectively. The ceremony was concluded with the “Cilicia” anthem.
