Remarks by President Serzh Sargsyan at the ceremony of inauguration of the reconstructed building of Matenadaran

Mr. President of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh,
Your Holiness, Catholicos of All Armenians,
Your Holiness, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia,
Dear Friends,

The conclusion of the reconstruction works of the Matenadaran, which carries the name of Mashtots, is an undertaking worthy of the festivities dedicated to the Republic of Armenia’s twentieth anniversary. Yerevan is full of beautiful and emblematic structures; however Matenadaran with its real and substantial weight is unparalleled and unrivaled.

For us, Matenadaran is everything – language, literature, history, science, a birth certificate and biography. Matenadaran is the anchor of all our future victories, our perpetual and ultimate source.

The are other Armenian matenadarans in the world - depositories of the Armenian manuscripts – in Jerusalem, Venice, Constantinople, Vienna and other important centers of the Armenian culture. They all are invaluable treasures. However, thanks to the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, the word “matenadaran” has become a special name. Not accidentally, referring to “matenadaran” everyone first of all pictures this magnificent building.

Today, the Matenadaran is a national treasure which has become the greatest citadel of the Armenian identity. And from this hill, the citadel guards not only the Mashtots Avenue but also the memory and character of our capital and our people.

Through the heroic deed of Saint Mesrop, the self-identification of the Armenian nation acquired a long-lasting and strong means to pass its memories from generation to generation. Paruyr Sevak rightfully said,

“And from now on, it’s not us, who’s discovered,
It’s we, who discover,
It’s not us, who’s remembered,
It’s we, who remember,
We are not testified for,
We testify for,
Approaching other times…”

Dear Friends,

We are one of those few nations who can pride ourselves on having a 1600-old perfect script, which survived ages and today continues to be a pillar of our existence. Thousands of our manuscripts are kept and studied here.

Next year, we will be celebrating the 500 anniversary of the first Armenian book. Just as through the efforts of Hakop Meghapart and other pioneer Armenian printers, we were able to switch in time and in a perfect fashion from manuscript-writing to book-printing, today we should get ready to preserve our cultural heritage in this digitalized world. And the reconstructed Matenadaran is fully equipped to perform that task.

Matenadaran is also a scientific and research center, which employs true devotees. Devotees, who withstood the hardships of the past years, meager salaries, daily life problems and with their round-the-clock work maintained this vital institution. We thank you, dear Matenadaran employees. This new unit has been a dream for all of us for many years. Today, it has become a reality and it testifies to the vigor of our people and our state. Have no doubt that attention toward Matenadaran will no subside. We will do our best to keep Matenadaran on a level with the world’s best centers of medieval and manuscript studies.

We thank Sergei Hambartsumian and all those benefactors who contributed to this endeavor. This comes to prove that in our days too there are those who carry on with the traditions of benevolence, who are ready to support development of our cultural centers. Such cooperation of the private and state sectors will continue, yielding much-expected results. Mr. Hambartsmian, I will address you publicly with only one sentence: blessed is the Armenian, who built a matenadaran…

We are grateful to our architects and construction workers who have found the best solutions and with the power of their minds and hands, with their sweat and dedicated work sanctified each stone of this structure. I believe, with this structure Arthur Meschian has become a worthy heir and a sort of partner of the brilliant representative of the Armenian architecture of the 20th century Mark Grigorian, carrying on with his work and staying true to the spirit and logic of his construction. Mr. Meschian, I think with this structure, with your work and with activity generally it’s been proved that Hayk will never be defeated by the evil Bell. Even though in your song you say the opposite. We all thank you.

Dear Friends,

I congratulate us all once more on this tremendous achievement.

I am confident that there is no force which can forestall victorious advancement of our nation. And that victorious march will be evidenced by the Mesropian script – manuscripts, printed, digitalized.

Thank you.

• Remarks by President Serzh Sargsyan at the ceremony of inauguration of the reconstructed building of Matenadaran