A luxurious illustrated volume, which allows the reader to see the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the oldest Christian Churches, through new eyes. The history of the Armenian Apostolic Church stretches back 17 centuries.
The production of this book involved special photo-shoots in the Holy Land, during the 2000th anniversary celebrations of Christ's Nativity in and around Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee, as well as in Jordan (in Petra, Machaeron, and the cities of the Decapolis). A special shoot was also undertaken in Armenia, during the 1700th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Etchmiadzin, Erevan, Hor-Virap, Ashtarak, Gioumri, Tatev and elsewhere, as well as in Karabakh and Iran.
«The Armenian Apostolic Church - 1700» consists of 7 chapters, a prologue and an epilogue. The Prologue deals with the enthronement of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, Garegin II. Chapter 1 is dedicated to the pilgrimage made by the hierarchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church to the Holy Land to celebrate the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ and outlines the principal holy sites of the Armenian Church in the Holy Land: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Monastery of SS. James in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Chapters II, III and IV tell of the witness of St. John the Baptist, of the earthly life of Jesus Christ and his disciples and of the arrival of the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew in Armenia. These chapters are illustrated with the best miniatures of Armenian artists of the 10th - 16th centuries and views of those sites in the Promised Lands, where the gospel events took place. Chapter V is dedicated to St. Gregory the Illuminator, the baptism of the Armenian people and to Holy Etchmiadzin. Chapter VI gives the reader an insight into the celebrations of a very special anniversary - 1700 years of Armenia being converted to Christianity, the blessing of the holy muron at Holy Etchmiadzin, the pilgrimage of leaders of Christian churches to the Monastery of Hor-Virap and the triumphant celebration of the sanctification of the Cathedral Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan. Chapter VII contains a panorama of the most important monasteries and churches in Armenia.
The collector's edition print run will grace the shelves of any book lover or collector. Alternatively, it would be the perfect present for friends and colleagues.
