Благотворительный фонд "Друзья Матенадарана" (Ереван, Армения) — различия между версиями

Версия 20:30, 15 мая 2007

Шаблон:Unitedt The “Friends of Matenadaran” About Us

The "Friends of Matenadaran" Benevolent Fund was created in 2001 under the sponsorship provided by the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin the 2 nd. During the past three years, the fund has implemented projects supporting the institute of old Armenian manuscripts named after Mesrop Mashtots-the Matenadaran. All together, the projects are worth nearly $120,000 U.S. dollars.

The idea of founding this institution has a history of 40 years. In the 1960s of the previous century, the then owner of the Matenadaran-academician Levon Khachikian, Syrian Armenian writer and public figure Varuzhan Salatian, Armenian American writer Zaven Syurmelian, Egyptian Armenian writer Sarukhan, and a group of Armenologists from the Diaspora initiated the job of creating the “Friends of Matenadaran” Benevolent Fund in order to support the Matendaran’s projects aimed for the preservation and enrichment of archives.

The honorable Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen the 1 st had cordially agreed to sponsor the fund. French Armenologist professor Frederick Feldin had undertaken the job of creating the Fund’s branch in France .

Due to some reasons, this great initiative did not become a reality. However, it still remained necessary to create a similar type of organization.

After Armenia ’s declaration of independence, the social-economic situation deteriorated due to war, blockades, the declining economy and the social status. Again, it was then that it became urgent to create a structure which would support the Matenadaran.

The Matenadaran, known as the institute of old Armenian manuscripts, is a state institution and is financed by the federal budget. However, the means provided by the government are only limited to the preservation of archives and expenditures of the scientific research staff. During the era of the Soviet Union , the government used to provide the Matenadaran with the equivalent of $370,000 U.S. dollars in Soviet rubles. At the present, the government only provides the equivalent of 80,000 U.S. dollars in drams a year(approximately 4 and a half times less than before) to this great Armenological center.

The Matenadaran, which is a data base of ancient cultural values, is similar to a living organism. Like all living organisms, it needs to be taken care of and neglection of daily care may lead up to severe losses. This concerns the preservation of archives, care of manuscripts and other unsolved problems which can not wait for the rise in economy or the time when the government will start caring. Besides that, scientific progress in the world forces us to think about not falling behind. In order to not fall behind, it is necessary to stimulate work on scientific research and to help lead the ways and methods of work to international standards.

The “Friends of Matenadaran” Benevolent Fund was created based on that goal. The Catholicos of All-Armenians Garegin the 2 nd has written the following in his kondak: “ By continuing the work of our past philosophers, we must keep the Matenadaran as a sacred temple of soul and a dazzling academy of science and art. Christ, our Lord and Savior says: “Wherever your treasures are, your hearts will be there.” Our treasures will continue to live, they will continue carrying out their mission as long as we are still here to look for our soul and essence in the ancient and meaningful pages of those treasures.”

2006-12-23

http://www.matenadaran.org/en/home/19/