Movsisyan Lectures in NY on Pre-Christian Alphabet

NEW YORK—On Sun., Feb. 2, Yerevan State University Professor Artak Movsisyan gave a multimedia presentation at the Pashalian Hall of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in Manhattan. The event was organized by the New York and New Jersey chapters of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society, as part of the Hamazkayin Eastern USA Distinguished Lecture series celebrating the 500th anniversary of Armenian printing. Prior to New York, Movsisyan gave a lecture in Boston; he will continue his lecture tour to major Armenian centers on the West Coast.

Hasmig Aprahamian, a representative of the Hamazkayin Eastern U.S. Regional Executive Committee, gave opening remarks, and invited Dr. Ara Caprielian, chairman of the New York Hamazkayin Chapter, to introduce Movsisyan and his vast body of publications in Armenian, Russian, and English.

Movsisyan’s talk—brimming with facts from primary sources of Armenian and non-Armenian origin—argued that in the pre-Mashdots, or pre-Christian era, Armenians already had a well-developed alphabet, spanning several millennia. After a lively question and answer period, Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, expressed his thoughts and congratulated Hamazkayin for organizing such diverse and thought-provoking lectures.

Following his closing remarks, Caprielian said that while a disciplined and motivated army is necessary to guarantee Armenia’s security and viability, that scholars of our national history, like Dr. Artak Movsiayn, are equally important to teach and present our true history, and to counteract the revisionists and pseudo-historians attempting to distort it. He also thanked Rev. Fr. Lakissian and the Board of Trustees for welcoming and hosting several of Hamazkayin’s programs. Fr. Lakissian consistently encourages Hamazkayin’s cultural activities and believes the cathedral ought to be a lively center for the community at large.

Following the talk, Movsisyan’s books flew off the table. The titles offered—The Sacred Highlands: Armenia in the Spiritual Geography of the Ancient Near East, The Writing Culture of Pre-Christian Armenia, and 10 Outstanding Armenian Kings—were no “light fare,” yet most of the books were purchased within minutes. The attendees surrounded the lecturer, asking additional questions, and patiently waiting to get their books inscribed.

Despite his young age, Movsisyan has clearly made a significant contribution to the study of pre-Christian Armenian history and writing. His career began in 1991 at the State Historical Museum of Armenia, where he worked as a scientific worker until 1997. Since then, he has been a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia. Parallel to his research, and since 1998, Movsisyan has taught history at Yerevan State University as an associate professor. The incomplete bibliography of his works consists of over a dozen monographs and research articles, some translated into various languages.

Movsisyan was educated solely in Armenia. In 1994, he earned his master’s degree at the department of history at Yerevan State University. From 1994-97, he completed his post-graduate studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, and earned his doctoral degree in 1997 for his thesis “The Hieroglyphic Script of Van Kingdom (Biainili, Urartu, Ararat),” published by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia.