On the occasion of the 300^th anniversary of the establishment of Mekhitarist Congregation in Venice, a conference entitled “Mekhitar and Mekhitarists; a Seminary for the Christian Enlightenment” was held in the Saint Lazarus Monastery in Venice, on May 4^th to 6^th, 2018. The conference was organized by Archbishop Levon Zekiyan, the Pontifical Delegate of Mekhitarist Order. In this conference, Bishop Krikor Chiftjian, the primate of Aderbadagan Diocese, participated and represented His Holiness Aram I and the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

The three-day multilingual conference dedicated its sessions to the work and mission of the Mekhitarist Congregation throughout history, one that has played a significant role, among others, in historical, philological, theological, confessional, manuscript, and architectural studies.

Bishop Krikor Chiftjian presented a study entitled “The Catholicosate of Cilicia and the Mekhitarists,” in which he emphasized the cultural and brotherly collaboration that has endured between the two orders, and highlighted the translational achievements that had taken place in the 14^th century in the latin-learning Monastery of “Dzor-Dzori,” under the supervision of Hovhannes Dzordzoretsi.

It’s worth mentioning that on May 6^th, a religious ceremony was celebrated by Archbishop Levon Zekiyan, and on May 5^th, after the Afternoon Service, a meeting took place in the monastery between participants from Holy See of Echmiyadzin, Holy See of Cilicia and Mekhitarist Congelation to discuss means to revitalize Saint Lazarus Monastery.