Armenian Studies 
2010 Press Releases
18 June 2010
Congratulations to Fr. Pakrad Bourjekian
Rudin Fellowship Scholar
Father Pakrad Bourjekian of the Armenian Brotherhood of Sts. James, Jerusalem was awarded the degree of MA in Armenian Studies at the degree ceremony in May 2010. Father Pakrad wrote his thesis on: "An Unpublished Homily of St. Gregory the Martyrophile". He has enrolled for the doctoral degree and his studies will be guided by Prof. Reuven Amitai and Prof. Michael Stone.
Father Pakrad's studies have been supported by a continuing grant from the Sam and May Rudin Foundation to foster University studies of priests of the Armenian Convent in Jerusalem. On this occasion, thanks are expressed to the foundation for its continued support.
24 May 2010
Professor Michael Stone was awarded the certificate of honor by the RA Ministry of Diaspora for great contribution to development of Armenian studies in Israel
Official Press Release put out by the RA Ministry of Diaspora
YEREVAN, 15 MAY, NOYAN TAPAN: On May 13, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan received Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Michael Stone. Minister Hakobyan expressed high appreciation of the professor's great contribution to the development of Armenian studies in Israel and awarded him the Ministry's certificate of honor for his notable contribution to presentation of Armenian culture and strengthening of friendly relations between Armenia and Israel. As the Department of Media and Public Relations of the RA Ministry of Diaspora told "NT", Stone is an author of numerous works on Armenian studies. He and Nira Stone have printed a work entitled "The Armenian Church" in the press. Stone is currently preparing the three-volume book entitled "Adam and Eve in the Armenian tradition" in Dublin.
Expressing gratitude to the Minister for true appreciation of his contribution to the sphere of Armenian Studies, the Jewish professor mentioned that he has always admired Armenian culture his entire life and has cordial ties with the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Getting acquainted with the Ministry's official website, the "Hayern Aysor" online daily, as well as the books published by the order of the Ministry, Mr. Stone stressed that the Ministry has completed a tremendous amount of work and expressed the desire to have several books on Armenian Studies. Minister Hakobyan donated the books and expressed hope that they would truly help the professor in conducting further studies.
Please, find the scan of Certificate here (JPG file enclosed)
H.E. Minister Hranoush Hakobian and Prof. M.E. Stone meet in Yerevan
17 April 2010
Prof. Theo M. van Lint visiting the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
(March 2010)
Professor Theo M. van Lint visited the Hebrew University as Stanford Budick Fellow of the Centre for Literary Studies. His visit, during the last fortnight of first term, included three public lectures and seminars, all well attended, and two class sessions. On all these occasions he demonstrated his mastery of medieval Armenian poetry and its place in the cultural context of the adjoining cultures, showing both its intrinsic literary worth and beauty and also its role in the literature of the Middle East. The visit was organized by the Institute of Asian and African Studies, with the enthusiastic support of its head, Prof. Reuven Amitai, and was supported by the Centre for Literary Studies.
Lecture titles:
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strong>Gods, Kings and the Beloved. Medieval Armenian Poetry and its Middle Eastern Counterparts. (The lecture was given on 17th March 2010).
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Vardan of Ani's Poem on the Divine Chariot (Ezekiel chap. 1). (The lecture was given on 22d March 2010).
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Unpacking a Medieval Armenian Poem and its Motley Ancestry. (The lecture was given on 25th March 2010).
Brief information about prof. Theo M. van Lint
Theo Maarten van Lint is Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies at the University of Oxford. He holds a PhD form Leiden University with a thesis on Kostandin of Erznka, a 13th – 14th c. Armenian religious poet, having previously studied Slavic Languages and Literature and Indo-European Comparative Linguistics. His main research interests lie with medieval Armenian literature and Armenian poetry, in particular with its international and religious aspects, as well as with the way oral and written traditions are handled in storytelling and the performance of poetry. Currently he is working on the Panegyric of the Divine Chariot by Vardan of Ani, a 10th – 11th century mystical interpretation of the throne vision of Ezekiel, as part of a project on the reception of Ezekiel’s vision in Armenian literature and art.
In collaboration with Dr Anna Sirinian (Bologna) and Prof. Francesco d’Aiuto (Rome) he is preparing a critical edition with translation and commentary of the Epistolary of Grigor Magistros Pahlawuni, an 11th c. hellenophile layman, deeply immersed as well in Near Eastern culture, and the most erudite Armenian of his age. Continuing work on Armenian and Persian poetics, he studies the love-epic of Aslı and Kerem, which is being brought back to performance by the Oxford based Armenian storyteller Vergine Gulbenkian. Together with Dr Amy Landau (Walters Art Museum, Baltimore) he researches the artistic, intellectual, and religious work of Armenians in Persia and Russia, and their relations with dominant groups in these empires. They focus on the artist Bogdan Saltanov and the cleric Yovhannēs vardapet Mrk‘uz, both influential Armenians from New Julfa, Isfahan.
Prof. Th.M. van Lint and Prof. M.E. Stone
