Lebanon

On Saturday, 13th of October, 2007 at 7:00 pm, in the courtyard of Mesrobian High School, the unveiling ceremony of the newly sculptured St. Mesrob Mashdots monumental statue took place.

The ceremony, which was organized by the administration of the school, took place with the blessings of His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, the Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholics of Cilicia. The development of the statue was sponsored by Msgr. Vartan Ashkarian, President of Armenian Catholic schools Directors council, who dedicated the statue to his parents. H.E. Dr. Vahan Ter Ghevondian, Ambassador of Armenia in Lebanon, was also present, to share his thoughts for this distinguished event. Armenian religious leaders, political figures as well as Mesrobian teachers and representatives from other Armenian schools were also present.

The opening speech was read by Mrs. Garine Tashjian, emphasizing on the person St. Mesrob Mashdots who is one of the most notable Armenian figures, who shaped the Armenian History, Culture and Faith by his discovery of the Armenian Alphabet.

Following the opening speech, His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, Msgr. Vartan Ashkarian, H.E. Dr. Vahan Ter Ghevondian and Mr. Gregoire Kaloust unveiled the statue. His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, ceremoniously blessed the statue.

After unveiling ceremony Mr. Gregoire Kaloust gave a speech. According to the principal of Mesrobian High School, the statue of St. Mesrob Mashdots in the main court of the school is a dream-come-true, emphasizing the fact that the school holds his name and is determined to follow His steps, on, all the national, cultural and spiritual perspectives. Mr. Gregoire congratulated all who were present and gave special thank to all who supported the finality of the statue and the success of the event. He specially thanked His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, for his encouragement and blessing, Msgr. Vartan Ashkarian for always supporting the school and sponsoring this project, as well as Mr. Kakig Kevorkian and Mr. Dikran Kalousdian for designing the supporting monument and sculpting the statue, respectively.

After the Principal’s speech, a DVD movie entitled “The Eternal Traveler” was presented to the audience. The DVD was edited by Vartan Tashjian, who put forward the idea of having St. Mesrob’s statue within the campus of the school.

An artistic program followed. Mr. Zakar Keshishian played music using an Armenian Shevi instrument, Mr. Kevork Bebedjian sang Armenian national songs, and Mrs. Hasmig Bertizlian performed poetical recitations from great Armenian writers.

After the artistic program, H.E. Dr. Vahan Ter Ghevondian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Planipotential of the Republic or Armenia in Lebanon was invited to address his thoughts to the audience. He noted that, the greatness of Mesrob Mashdots work lies in the fact that the Armenian people only became truly Christians, after the translation of the Holy Scriptures to the Armenian Language, despite the fact that Christianity was the official faith in Armenia for more than a century. He also noted that, Mesrob Mashdots was not alone in his project of making the Armenian letters, but also had the Catholicos Sahag Bartev and the King Vramshabouh at his side. Finally, he declared that there is no other nation who celebrates the Holy Translators each year.

Having sponsored the development of the project, Msgr. Vartan Ashkarian thanked His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX for his presence and his blessings. He also named his parents Kevork and Zarouhi Ashkarian, to whom he dedicated the sculpture.

Finally, His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, addressed the sermon of the day to the audience. In his words, he made clear that the historical figure of St. Mesrob Mashdots has never needed a sculpture, since he is already sculptured in the spirit and mind of every Armenian who comes into this world. This figure gave the opportunity to a nation to communicate with God in his own language. This sculpture as well as every Armenian student who attends Mesrobian High School proves that St. Mesrob Mashdots is living in our spirits and minds.