NAASR’S MARDIGIAN LIBRARY RECEIVES DONATION OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA

The Mardigian Library of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) in Belmont, Massachusetts, recently received a significant donation of publications from the Catholicosate of Cilicia through the Eastern Prelacy. 

This donation was initiated following the pontifical visit of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia to NAASR on October 11, 2024. During this visit, His Holiness requested that His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan, Prelate, arrange for publications issued by the Catholicosate to be sent to NAASR’s Mardigian Library. In particular, His Holiness noticed that the library lacked most of the first fifteen volumes of the series Matenagirk Hayots, a foundational scholarly series dedicated to classical Armenian texts and authors, which the Catholicosate published in collaboration with the Armenian Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.  

A number of the reprinted houshamadeans (memorial books of Western Armenian cities and towns) were also absent, and His Holiness expressed his wish to provide complete sets of these important publications of the Catholicosate, among others. One of the Mardigian Library’s special sections is the Houshamadean Room, featuring books on histories of now-destroyed Armenian villages and towns. Around the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Catholicos Aram I undertook the republication of a many of these important volumes, providing the original text as well as newly created indices for each. 

The donation also includes publications authored by Catholicos Aram I, whose scholarly and pastoral writings have had a lasting impact on modern Armenian theology, church life, and ecumenical thought. These works significantly strengthen the library’s resources in theology, church history, and contemporary Armenian intellectual discourse.  

In addition, the collection includes a range of publications by various authors, encompassing studies in Armenian history, theology, literature, art and architecture, cultural heritage, and regional studies. 

As an independent research library dedicated to Armenian studies, NAASR continues to build its collections through meaningful collaborations with ecclesiastical and academic institutions. This generous contribution from the Catholicosate of Cilicia further strengthens the library’s mission to support research, scholarship, and public engagement. The institution has expressed its deep gratitude to His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan, Very Reverend Father Hrant Tahanian of St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church (Watertown, Massachusetts), and Dr. Vartan Matiossian, Executive Director of the Eastern Prelacy.