KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

“Arshavir Gabuchyan is an exceptional Armenian, scholar, clergyman and writer,” says Associate Professor of the Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU), Candidate of Philological Sciences Lilit Ter-Grigoryan.

Executive Director of the Charitable Danish-Armenian Mission, lecturer of the Gevorkian Theological Seminary Arshavir Gabuchyan paid a visit to the Armenian State Pedagogical University where he had a meeting with the 3rd-4th-year students of the Faculty of Preschool Education, and among the participants were Armenian students from Artsakh who recently joined the ranks of the students of the ASPU.

Dean Heghine Khachatryan assured that the modern-day messages in the lecture by Father Arshavir will spark the students’ interest and will help the Armenian students from Artsakh overcome the hardships and the situation created.

Associate Professor Lilit Ter-Grigoryan touched upon Father Arshavir’s activities and noted that he has authored several academic books devoted to theology, textbooks devoted to religions and has collections of literary works.

Before the lecture, the attendees listened to a choral song from an Italian opera that was based on Psalm of Jeremiah 137, and Arshavir Gabuchyan interpreted it.

The speaker touched upon the destruction of Jerusalem and the capturing of the Israelites by the Babylonians, transmitting the main message, that is, one should not be exposed to humiliation and needs to stay loyal to God. “However, during the destructions, two things stayed alive — the Word of God and the vision for the return to Jerusalem,” Father Arshavir remarked.

Father Arshavir addressed the Armenians from Artsakh and urged them to never lose their dialect, identity and to live united since this is the only guarantee for return to Artsakh. “We Armenians forget the confession that Artsakh is ours and that we have a history spanning 5,000 years. The people of Israel roamed in the desert for 40 years, but returned to their homeland. The Psalm also consoled and encouraged all those who believed in their God,” he remarked.

Interpreting the Psalm, the speaker stated that it is in line with our days — we must rely on God and ourselves.

At the end, the students asked the speaker their questions, and on the occasion of book donation day, they gifted him the book “The Image of Jesus Christ in 20th Century and Contemporary Armenian Arts by Sati Vardanyan.