Sunday, September 17th, at 5:00pm
In 301 A.D, Armenia was the first nation to accept Christianity as a state religion. This historic occasion took place well before the decree of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I who ordered all citizens of the Empire to be Christians. To date, Armenia is the easternmost country where Christianity is the National Church. Over the centuries, Armenians built elaborate religious complexes which housed senior and junior monks and facilitated self-sufficiency. They were centers of learning, secluded in faraway mountaintops and deep valleys.
During a recent visit to Armenia, master pianist and noted ethnomusicologist, Şahan Arzruni, visited and photographed a number of ancient Armenian monasteries. He will present some of those immemorial sites with the accompaniment of slides and will relate their background and significance with anecdotal inserts.
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Admission is by private invitation.
