On Thursday, October 18, His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, presided over the opening of the new Vatche and Tamar Manoukian library and manuscript center.
Among those taking part in the day’s events were Armenia’s President Serge Sargsyan, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, the center’s benefactors Vatche and Tamar Manoukian of the United Kingdom, and AGBU President Berge Setrakian. His Holiness blessed the new building and expressed his gratitude to the Manoukians for their generosity.
The state-of-the-art research facility, located on the grounds of Holy Etchmiadzin, will be a great benefit to the Holy See and to scholarship in general, preserving more than 3,000 ancient volumes of the Armenian Church, serving as a center for Armenological and theological studies, and hosting exhibitions for the public.
