Sargis Shnorhali`s  "Commentary on the Seven Catholic Epistles"  handed over to Matenadaran

ArmInfo.The ceremony of donating the scholarly and theological work of Sargis Shnorhali, ''Commentary on the Seven Catholic Epistles'', to the Matenadaran was held at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall ahead of the Independence  Day of the Republic of Armenia.

The event was attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President  of the Constitutional Court Arman Dilanyan, President of the Supreme  Judicial Council Artur Atabekyan, Prosecutor General of the Republic  of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan, Director of the Matenadaran Ara  Khzmalyan, representatives of executive bodies, the scientific  community, and ambassadors accredited to the Republic of Armenia.

On July 31 of this year, a decision was made at the Cabinet meeting  of the Republic of Armenia to allocate about 93 million drams to the  Matenadaran, with which the exceptional theological and scholarly  work of the prominent medieval manuscript writer Sargis Shnorhali,  ''Commentary on the Seven Catholic Epistles'' (13th-14th centuries),  was acquired. As a result of months of negotiations by the  Matenadaran leadership, it became possible to remove the manuscript  from the auction and reduce the initial price.  The manuscript's  entry into the Matenadaran will be an exceptional event in all  respects.  One page of the manuscript was kept in the Matenadaran and  was placed in its place in the manuscript with today's ceremony.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that it is a great honor for him  to be present at this ceremony today, noting that a very important  manuscript will be placed in the Matenadaran named after Mesrop  Mashtots. "This is the second such decision by the Government in  recent years, of course, with the mediation of the Matenadaran and  with the assurance that the manuscript really has a special  significance. Understandably, when this sentence is heard, we cannot  think for a long time, and our thoughts are about the fact that the  Republic of Armenia should become the place of the most important  monuments and manuscripts of our identity. We are guided by the  ideology that our state is our identity," the Prime Minister  emphasized.

According to the Prime Minister, today's event is directly related to  the implementation of that concept, because initially, during the  period of the adoption of Christianity, before that, our state  conditioned our identity, but then, due to circumstances known to  everyone in our history, with the end of statehood, our identity has,  in fact, spread throughout the world. "And now, when the state and  statehood are at the core of our ideology, our state is once again  finding the role of the core of our identity, and therefore, the most  important monuments for our identity, such manuscripts, various  samples should be housed in our state, because our state should be  the epicenter of our identity. I am saying this, because of course,  what happened here, being next to this manuscript is in itself a very  moving and emotional moment, I am sure for all of you.

But I want to say that these decisions are not just emotional  decisions, because they are conscious decisions, and we understand  what these allocations from the state budget, which, by the way, were  not planned in advance, are for," the Prime Minister said.  Nikol  Pashinyan reminded that the draft concept of the aesthetics of the  Real Armenia was recently published and there have been many  discussions since then. What is that, what does the aesthetics of the  Real Armenia mean? The Prime Minister noted that the aesthetics of  the Real Armenia means that the Republic of Armenia should be the  epicenter and axis of our cultural identity, our aesthetic identity,  and that is the policy that the Government is pursuing.

"It is true that the Government is thanked for all this, of course  the Government makes the decisions, but, including for today, we  should completely and unreservedly redirect that gratitude to the  citizens working in the Republic of Armenia, creating results, paying  taxes prescribed by law, because the words of gratitude that are  addressed to the Government, I perceive as belonging to all those  taxpayers," said Nikol Pashinyan, adding that the Government  perceives itself simply as a representative of those people, who are  the real recipients of gratitude. The Prime Minister emphasized that  all words of gratitude should be addressed to the citizens working in  the Republic of Armenia, creating results, paying taxes prescribed by  law, because they are those who in reality stand behind today's event  and, in fact, this is about practically, if not all, then at least  the majority of people present in the hall.

"Starting with our esteemed musicians, who pay income tax from their  salaries, and our other representatives, some as businessmen, some as  employees, and without undue modesty, I truly, sincerely think that  the real recipients of this gratitude are you, and I want to  sincerely thank you for donating this manuscript to us, to you, to  the Republic of Armenia, and for returning it to the Republic of  Armenia," Prime Minister Pashinyan concluded his speech.

A concert dedicated to the Independence Day of the Republic of  Armenia was held next, performed by the National Philharmonic  Orchestra of Armenia.

As a reminder, a week earlier, the Ministry of Education, Science,  Culture, and Sports (MECS) circulated a draft resolution "On  Approving the Concept of Supporting the Location of the Aesthetics of  Real Armenia" (verbatim). As stated in the explanatory note to the  document, the further development of the Republic of Armenia and the  strengthening of statehood should also be based on the aesthetic  forms of expression and manifestation of the RA's essence.  State-funded programs should exclude propaganda of war and revenge  and be aimed at creating and strengthening an environment of  coexistence in the region. Moreover, for peace to acquire real  meaning, it must be based on knowledge of the region, a true and  honest understanding of its own history, and critical thinking.

For years, the policy of war has created an information and knowledge  vacuum regarding the real region, replacing it primarily with  information interpreted from a historical and concrete perspective.  In this case, it's necessary to demonstrate the complexity and  multilayered nature of the situation, making the region visible,  including its shared interests, including economic ones, which can  clearly stimulate thoughts and feelings in this direction. Peaceful  discourse should include programs to support joint initiatives: joint  film production, festivals, and any other formats that provide  opportunities for human interaction, the opportunity to listen and  understand the other's point of view," the ministry believes.