ARMENOLOGY PROGRAMS TO START IN LOS ANGELES

The Associate Professor thought of the idea of implementation of such a program in August, 2018 when he was invited to the United States to work out and implement programs of teaching Armenian.

“According to some data, there are about 110 thousand school-aged Armenian children and only 5 of them attend Armenian colleges. Others go to American state schools where studies are only in English, so our children gradually get English language thinking”, state N. Poghosyan.

Attaching importance to the role of preservation of Armenian thinking Mr. Poghosyan mentioned that speaking Armenian is a serious problem in all communities.

The leader of the USA Western Diocese Archbishop Hovnan Terteryan contributed to the implementation of the program.

He outlined some centres functioning in the USA successfully where unfortunately, not all branches of Armenian studies are paid enough attention to.

“We have a numerous and powerful Armenian community in California, however the problem of uniting the scientific potential exists there too. Arakel and Shake Agha-Sargsyan library works in the Diocese under Hayk Madoyan leadership, but the problems of getting necessary literature appear sometimes and in such cases, in parallel with the literature available online some of our students in Armenia get the necessary materials and send their copies to their American friends”, said Mr. Poghosyan.

The Associate Professor informed that the Armenian Genocide survivors and their generations appeared in the American land preserved and later handed to the Diocese residence some documents, evidences, and the study and putting into circulation of those materials will enrich the Armenian literature and history.



“At my hand I have manuscript documents written by Andranik the Commander (Zoravar Andranik) in 1918-1919, which were preserved for years and in the 1960s were handed to the diocese residence by the Commander’s comrade in arms Garegin Sahakyan”, stated the lecturer.

The manuscripts of the 14-17 centuries-Bibles, a Book of Psalms, handwritten materials of the 19th century which are a novelty for the Armenian studies also deserve attention.



“The finely illustrated Isfahan Bible dated 1647 is of a particular value. These materials were preserved here and didn’t get enough attention but they are a part of our cultural heritage and should find their place in the scientific sphere”, noted Mr. Poghosyan.

According to him. A number of articles were published and are going to be published. Besides, the collection of John Chrysostom homilies was published. Series of books with “Voskeghenik” translations of original manuscripts of John Chrysostom, Basil of Caesarea and others written in Grabar (Old Armenian) are being published.

“I’d like to say that our colleagues from Armenia, including YSU specialists are taking part in the translations from Grabar, said Mr. Poghosyan and added, “Voskeghenik” is a component of the wide program which includes assistance to young and perspective Armenologists. Our scientific circles at YSU or elsewhere should be able to discover capable resources and provide a field of activity for them. Lack of finances is already an unserious argument”.

The Associate Professor expressed hope that the program will attract many specialists of Armenian Studies.