THE ARARAT-ESKIJIAN MUSEUM

AND
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR ARMENIAN STUDIES AND RESEARCH

Present

THE ARCHIVAL CHAMBER OF ECHMIADZIN

A Lecture By

Dr. George Bournoutian

Professor of East European and Middle Eastern Studies

Iona College, New York

Sunday, February 22, 2009, at 4:00 p.m.

at the Ararat-Eskijian Museum

15105 Mission Hills Road, Mission Hills, CA 91345

 Siméon of Erevan was Catholicos of the Armenian Church from 1763 to 1780. He reorganized the
Holy See of Echmiadzin, restored its spiritual authority, increased its wealth and political influence,
and in 1771 established the first printing press at Echmiadzin, the first ever in Armenia.

 After assuming the leadership of the Church, Siméon gathered all the documents and manuscripts
which were in the Echmiadzin archives and, after examining them, wrote Jambr, Siméon’s term for
“archival chamber.” Prof. George Bournoutian has just published the first English translation, with
extensive annotations, of this important work, it as part of Mazda’s Armenian Studies Series.

 Jambr begins with the history and apostolic origins of the Armenian Church and the construction
of the Holy See of Echmiadzin. It describes the move of the Holy See from its original site to other
locations, because of invasions and other uncertainties, and its final return from Cilicia to Echmiadzin
in 1441. This enormous work (some 500 pages in Bournoutian’s edition) provides a wealth of other
information that might otherwise have been lost and is one of the most important primary sources on
the history of the Armenian Church, as well as the history of Armenia under Muslim rule.

 Dr. George Bournoutian is the author or translator of numerous other books, including A Concise
History of the Armenian People, Two Chronicles on the History of Karabagh, The Travel Accounts of Simeon of
Poland, and Tigran II and Rome.

 . Admission free (Donations appreciated) . Reception following program

Jambr will be on sale and available for signing by Prof. Bournoutian.

For more information contact the Ararat–Eskijian Museum at (818) 838-4862 or

or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]