HOLY SEE’S ARMENIAN STUDIES CENTER OPENS ACADEMIC YEAR, EXPANDING GLOBAL REACH

After a month-long delay, the Armenian Studies Center of the Great House of Cilicia officially opened its 2024-2025 academic year on Monday, November 4, at the Khoren I Center in Fanar.    

Every Armenian educational institution is a beacon of light for the Armenian people, as Armenian schools remain a fundamental source of identity and culture.

For the third year, the Armenian Studies Center operates three days a week — on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays — with structured classes held in the evenings from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. This year, the center welcomed 39 students, with 21 attending in person from Lebanon and 18 participating online from Germany, Kuwait, Syria, Canada, the United States, and Australia.   

Aharon Shekerdemian, the center’s director, said that the Khoren I Center has become a home for Armenians seeking knowledge and enlightenment. He extended warm wishes for the new school year to both faculty and students, highlighting that the students’ interest in Armenian studies is invaluable for efforts to preserve Armenian heritage.    

On this occasion, the director thanked His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, emphasizing that the Armenian Studies Center, with over a decade of operation, stands as clear evidence of His Holiness’s dedication to preserving the Armenian language and national values. Shekerdemian also expressed gratitude to the Center’s committee, the Cilician Brotherhood fathers, the teaching staff, and all those whose collective efforts have transformed the center into an important institution for Armenian cultural education and identity preservation.