16 October 2014 - Akhaltskha.Net

Akhaltskha’s Mariam Harutyunyan becomes Armenia’s best student

The RA Ministry of Education and Science summed up the results of its Best Student nation-wide competition yesterday.

RA Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrtchyan greeted the students and granted their awards. The annual competition also serves as a way for the government to reveal and encourage the best students and help them grow as professionals.

The students passed two stages. The first was held within universities. Each university had submitted to the RA Ministry of Education and Science the documents of the winner of the first stage from the Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree Programs, according to spheres.

The second stage was held by a commission established upon the executive order of the RA Minister of Education and Science. The competition was held in the following areas: natural science, medicine, humanities, social studies, engineering, Armenology, culture/sports.

To win the competition, the students of various universities had to not only have outstanding performance and be socially active, but also be involved in academics.

This year, there were participants from 18 universities. One of the winners of the competition is 2nd-year Master’s student of the Faculty of Informatics and Applied Mathematics at Yerevan State University Mariam Harutyunyan, who is from Akhaltskha. She was awarded with a certificate and a one-time nominal scholarship set by the RA Minister of Education and Science a...
Akhaltskha celebrated St. Sarkis the Warrior Day

On February 11, the Armenian Apostolic Church is celebrating the day of Saint Sarkis the Warrior, His Son, Mardiros and the 14 soldiers.

Every year, the faithful of Akhaltskha region travel nearly 4 kilometers to visit the St. Sarkis the Warrior Chapel, which is located next to the Holy Cross Church in Sazel village. The holiday is especially a joyful holiday for young Armenians who very often head towards the St. Sarkis the Warrior Chapel in groups and with their classmates, and this has been a folk ritual in Akhaltskha for a long time now.

On the occasion, a Holy Mass was served, and the celebrant was pastor of Akhaltskha and the nearby villages, Fr. Priest Torgom Vardanyan at Holy Cross Church in the Sazel village of Akhaltskha.

His Holiness and Fr. Torgom interpreted the symbol of the day for the faithful and congratulated them.

At the end of the Holy Mass, Spiritual Superintendent of Akhaltskha, Fr. Friar Hakob Sahakyan and the celebrant performed the blessing of youth.
Lebanese-Armenians visited House-Museum of Jivani

Despite the cold winter, the House-Museum of Jivani continues to host visitors and convey the warmth that was characteristic of the troubadour. Today, it is a pleasure to state that there are visitors from quite a lot of countries around the world.
Lebanese-Armenians recently visited the House-Museum of Jivani in Kartsakh. During their visit, they mentioned the following: “We were very impressed with the museum in Kartsakh where the items were sorted properly, interestingly and meticulously. The life of Jivani was presented in a very interesting way. We received great explanations and got to know Jivani up close. We hope many people visit this museum,” writes javakhkmedia.com.

The guests left with great impressions and promised to return with a larger group in the spring.
Vardges Surenyants’s house in Akhaltskha on sale

The house of great Armenian painter Vardges Surenyants in Akhaltskha is on sale. According to the homeowner, he has preserved the former look of Vardges Surenyants’s house and has not renovated it since he still believes there will be people who will want to purchase Surenyants’s house and turn it into a museum.

Vardges Surenyants’s house has five medium-size rooms and a small garden in the back of the house. Currently, the house is on sale for $90,000 dollars.

On August 1, 2009, a plaque dedicated to the memory of great Armenian painter Vardges Surenyants was unveiled on the wall of the painter’s house in Akhaltskha.

The event dedicated to the painter’s 150th birth anniversary and the unveiling of the plaque were organized by businessman Sos Sahakyan, who lives in Armenia and is originally from Akhaltskha.

Vardges Surenyants was born in 1860 to a family of a clergyman in Akhaltskha. He received his primary education at the Lazaryan College, after which he continued his studies in the department of architecture of the highly reputable school for painting, sculpting and architecture in Moscow. He started pursuing his career as a painter at the imperial academy in Munich.

Knowing ten languages, Surenyants also studied the arts and literature of different nations. According to his contemporaries, he would recite the poems of Persian poets Hafez and Khayam, translate the works of William Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde,...
Public discourse on Akhaltskha’s budget for the year 2017

Representatives of the city council of Akhaltskha participated in the discussion on the city’s budget for the year 2017. Among the representatives of Armenia organizations were the founder of the Democratic Union of Nations of Georgia Ashot Kavaleryan and Director of the Media Analysis Center of Samtskhe-Javakhk Eduard Ayvazyan.

The discussion began with a speech by Head of the Sacrebulo of Akhaltskha Davit Lomidze. “The regional development foundation has allocated 2,250,000 Laris and has distributed the funds to solve issues in various sectors, including infrastructure projects and social programs. As far as the sacrebulo’s budget is concerned, we reduced it by 126,000 Laris and immediately allocated it for the implementation of infrastructural projects,” head of the city council Davit Lomidze.

After being introduced to the draft of the city’s budget, the participants of the meeting expressed their views on the budget. The attendees said it would be nice, if the city solved the issues related to stray dogs, public restrooms, the renovation of the local cultural center, public transportation and the wrongly placed road signs.

According to Davit Lomidze, the budget for the year 2017 in Akhaltskha will make up nearly 7,900,000 Laris. According to the draft, administrative expenditures have been reduced by 798,200 Laris.

The President of the Agency of Religious Affairs of Georgia and his staff had a meeting with the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia

16.10.2014

On October 14, 2014 the President of the Agency of Religious Affairs of Georgia Zaza Vashakhmadze and members of his staff had a meeting with the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia

Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop St. Vazgen Mirzakhanyan expressed his contentment on their visit. The Primate congratulated the guests on the day of Svetitskhovloba, and wished them Godly and profitable work.

Two main questions were discussed during the meeting. The first question referred to financing of national religious communities functioning in Georgia, and the second question referred to the preservation of churches, confiscated from the Armenian Diocese in Georgia during the Soviet era, and the question of returning them to the Diocese.

The Primate expressed his readiness to cooperate with the Agency for the sake of peaceful and united activities of religious communities in Georgia.

In his turn, the head of the State Agency of Religious Affairs of Georgia Zaza Vashakhmadze informed the Primate that questions raised are always considered by the Agency, and they make every effort to preserve cultural and historical heritage and to provide material support to religious communities in Georgia.

armenianchurch.ge

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“St. Norashen” church is still in restoration process

16.10.2014

Restoration works of the 15th century St. Norashen church started on October 2 of the current year under the blessing of the Primate at Armenian Diocese in Georgia.

Back in January 2013 during Georgia Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’s visit to Armenia, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians raised the question of returning the churches in the territory of Georgia that were confiscated during the Soviet era, to the Diocese. Prime Minister Ivanishvili’s answer was his initiative to restore the churches in danger before making a decision on their affiliation. The Prime Minister expressed his readiness to finance the restoration works from his “Qartu” foundation.

A working group, which included the Ministry of Culture of Georgia and the Agency of Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia, was formed. The group would be responsible for the arrangement of works and project development.

During the coming year the foundation of the church will be strengthened, then there will be works on restoration of the exterior and entire parameters. According to Bidzina Ivanishvili’s initiative, the restoration works are financed by the foundation of preservation of historical monuments “Qartu”. The restoration project of the temple was worked out by the architectural company “Engineering Idea”, and the construction company “Aba Jgupi” performs the restoration on the basis of this project. Patriarchate of Georgia and the Armenian Diocese in ... »»»

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