The Armenian Church commemorates the 1,036 martyrs of the Vartanants War on Thursday before Poon Paregentan, while the Feast of Ghevontiants, two days before, commemorates the priests who also gave their lives in the defense of faith. However, the battle of Avarayr, the highlight of the Vartanants War, was fought on May 26, 451, the actual date when (click on heading to read more)
Amber Kantarjian was born on June 30, 1852 in the neighborhood of Pera, in Constantinople. She was interested in theater from a young age and participated in family performances at the home of her grandmother. She entered the theatrical group of Hagop Vartovian at the theater Osmaniyeh of Gedik-Pasha during the theatrical season 1870–1871, aged eighteen, getting the pseudonym of Asdghik (“Little Star”)…
Born in Armenia, Prince Nikodimos Amatuni—who appears to have been somewhat connected to the medieval princely family of the same name—developed his career in the Russian administration until the October Revolution, which ended with his emigration to France. He was born in the village of Oshakan, in the province of Yerevan (the burial place of Mesrop Mashtots). He studied …
Vertanes Papazian was a prolific writer who delved into subjects of social and national interest at the turn of the twentieth century.
He was born in Van, in a priest’s family, on April 12, 1866. He moved to Tabriz, Iran, as a child. After his schooling in Agulis and Tabriz, he studied at the Gevorgian Seminary in Etchmiadzin, but he could not graduate, for he had to start working at the age of fifteen…
Avedik Evdokiatsi, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople was born on April 1, 1657, in Evdokia (Tokat). He was a disciple of the priests Sarkis and Bedros, and then of archimandrite Hagop Belenktsi. In 1675 he was ordained deacon in Payas (Cilicia), and then he moved to the monastery of St. Hagop of Gabos, in Upper Armenia (Partser Hayg), where he was consecrated monk (apegha) and …
Dikran Chukhajian was the first author of operas in Armenian reality, and his first opera became famous long after his death. He was born in Constantinople in 1837, studied at composer Gabriel Yeranian’s class, then followed classes in Milan. Along with other Armenian intellectuals of that period, he fought for the development of national culture, organized musical societies, theatres…
Very little is known about the early life of priest, poet, and composer Petros Ghapantsi. He was born in Ghapan (nowadays Kapan, Siunik), in Eastern Armenia, in the early 18th century. He became a member of the Holy Echmiadzin Brotherhood in 1753-1756. Later, he served as legate in various places, including Constantinople, Adrianopolis (Edirne), Armash, and Crimea…
Poet Aramayis Sahakian was synonymous with the satirical weekly, Vozni (“Hedgehog”) for over three decades. He was born in Artsvashen (province of Gegharkunik), on May 25, 1936, in the Armenian exclave occupied by Azerbaijan since 1992. He graduated from the language and history department of the Khachatur Abovian State Teacher Training Institute (now university) in 1960 and followed the courses of literature …
Alexander Khatisian, one of the prime ministers of the first Republic of Armenia, was a remarkable public figure before and after the crucial years of 1918-1920.
He was born in Tiflis (nowadays Tbilisi), the capital of Georgia, on February 17, 1874. He belonged to a well-to-do family. His brother Kostandin Khatisian (1864-1913) was among the founding members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
After graduating from the local gymnasium (Russian high school) in 1891, Khatisian went to Russia to pursue higher education.
Reading the list of translations by Samvel Mkrtchyan is simply humbling. His translation of a text like James Joyce’s Ulysses (2012), published two years before his untimely death, crowned the career of this prolific translator. Mkrtchyan was born on February 25, 1959, in Talin (Armenia). In 1983 he graduated from the Valery …Brusov University, specialized in foreign languages. Afterwards…
