On June 27, in Paris, at the headquarters of UNESCO, “Nerses Shnorali. the conference entitled “heavenly angel” started the events dedicated to the 850th anniversary of Nerses Shnoralu. The exhibition’s opening with the same title occurred on the same day.
The delegation headed by Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Armenia Zhanna Andreasyan also participates in the commemorative events of the famous Armenian medieval thinker Nerses Shnoralu, included in the 2022-2023 calendar of famous people and important events of UNESCO.
“Nerses Shnorali. “heavenly angel” conference was attended by the representatives of Matenadaran, the Mother See of St. Etchmiadzin, the scientific circles of France, the representative of the Vatican in UNESCO, spiritual fathers of sister churches, ambassadors accredited to UNESCO, guests.
At the conference, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Armenia, Arayik Khzmalyan, the head of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Armenia to UNESCO, Christian Ter Stepanyan, and the representative of the Vatican to UNESCO made a speech of welcome.
The main speakers of the conference were the famous French Armenologist Jean-Pierre Mahé, Gurgen Gasparyan, researcher of the “Matenadaran” Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, Father Shahe Abegha Ananyan, Congregant of the Mother See of Saint Etchmiadzin. The conference was chaired by Armine Melkonyan, senior researcher of Matenadaran.
During the speech, the speakers appreciated the creative heritage of Shnoralu and his role in spreading pan-Christian values.
The conference was followed by the exhibition with the same title, at the opening of which the minister of KGSMS, Zhanna Andreasyan, made a speech. Welcoming the attendees, Zhanna Andreasyan congratulated them on the critical and unprecedented cultural event. “Today, we have an opportunity to celebrate once again one of the most prominent names in Armenian spiritual history, Saint Nerses Shnorhalu. I am sure that within the framework of the conference that started today, accurate scientific evaluations and beautiful and profound descriptions were given. Yet, it isn’t easy to define the role and significance of the great Patriarch in the formation of Armenian theological and aesthetic thought.
According to the minister, the exhibition is another opportunity to get acquainted with Nerses Shnoralu’s heritage and realize his role in the history of bibliography and written culture.
“The originals of the samples are preserved in the Matenadaran named after Mesrop Mashtots, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mashtotsyan Matenadaran for providing digital copies of the illustrated manuscripts,” said the minister, thanking the UNESCO leadership for creating such an opportunity.
Christian Ter Stepanyan, Head of the Permanent Representation of Armenia to UNESCO, and Eduard Firmin Matoko, Deputy Director General of UNESCO, also gave speeches.
The exhibition was presented by Davit Ghazaryan, acting as the chief custodian of the “Matenadaran” Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts Foundation.
