“Vaspurakan Artzvoyn” Printing Office :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

“Vaspurakan Artzvoyn” Printing Office 1863 — 1865 yy․

Turkey / Bitlis / Mush / Changli

Historical Introduction
1862 y․

Press of the “Vaspurakan Artzvoyn” (1863 to 1865). On assuming the post of Prior in Sourb Karapet Monastery of Moosh in 1862, Archimandrite Mkrtich Khrimian moved the wooden press of the small printing-office of Varag Monastery there and started publishing the “Artzvik Tarono” (“Small Eagle of Taron”) biweekly under the editorship of Archimandrite Garegin Servandztiants (its publication lasted from 1 April 1863 until 1 June 1865). The latter wrote the following in the first issue of the newspaper: “...this is a difficult undertaking, for to establish a press in Sourb Karapet Monastery of Moosh... to imbue the hearts of the people with a striving for study... The printing-house is small and lacks a lot of things. Like an old wine-skin, the people’s minds are torn and filled with total misery, but the “Artzvik” will do everything to fit and feed them considerably at least at this extent and in this way for the time being.”

For information about folklorist, philologist, ethnographer and public figure, Archimandrite Garegin Servandztiants (17.11.1840, Van - 17.11.1892, Constantinople), see Կոստանդյան Է., Գարեգին Սրվանձտյանց, Երևան, 2008. Կ. Սասունի, Պատմութիւն Տարօնի աշխարհի, Պէյրութ, 1957, էջ 206, 212: Abrahamian Emma, Printing-Houses Throughout the Armenian Homeland, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 6, p. 9.

During the short existence of the press of Sourb Karapet Monastery, the Government closed it for several times due to the slander of Mambre Mamikonian, one of the members of the monastic community who served as Prior between 1873 and 1882: “Khrimian established a well-furnished school named Zharangavorats with excellent teachers in the aforementioned Sourb Karapet Monastery and placed the press he had brought from Varag there. He published a monthly called “Artzvik” there, although it closed for several times as the present-day Superior, Bishop Mambre, had reported the Government that Khrimian had allegedly incited the people to revolt through it.”

Եզնիկ Մատթէոս Տարօնացի, Խրիմեան Հայրիկ, «Մեղու Հայաստանի», 1876, N 7, 21 փետրվարի, էջ 2: Abrahamian Emma, Printing-Houses Throughout the Armenian Homeland, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 6, p. 9.

1875 y․

In 1875 the brethren of Sourb Karapet Monastery applied to Catholicos Gevorg IV with a request “...to renovate the large school together with its press...” during the construction activity to be unfolded there.

Վաւերագրեր հայ եկեղեցու պատմութեան, Գևորգ Դ Կոստանդնուպոլսեցի Քերեստեճեան, գիրք ԺԱ, Երեւան, 2004, էջ 596: Abrahamian Emma, Printing-Houses Throughout the Armenian Homeland, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 6, p. 9.

The press of Sourb Karapet Monastery published only 46 issues of the “Artzvik” newspaper.

Abrahamian Emma, Printing-Houses Throughout the Armenian Homeland, in: "Vardzk", 2012, N 6, p. 9.

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