On Sunday, November 11^th, 2018, following the Divine Liturgy, His Holiness Aram I inaugurated the 39^th Annual Pan-Armenian Book Fair.

The main theme of His Holiness’ speech was the values that Armenian books represent for the Armenian people. He stated that any given life should be lived with ethical, moral, intellectual and aesthetic values, and added that without those values life would lose its depth and meaning. The Catholicos then stated that in addition to common values shared among people, each religion, culture and nation have their own values. He continues that for Armenians, Christian values are interwoven with national values, which is why the Armenian books represent a treasury for their collective memory and their struggle to keep their Christianity and Armenianness. And from this perspective, His Holiness Aram I concluded his speech by exhorting the attendees to recognize the value of books.

The opening ceremony came to close with the spiritual songs and Cilicia anthem sung by “Armash” choir of the Armenian Theological Seminary.