On April 8, 2017, the Calouste Gulbenkian Hall of the “Hayartun” Center at the Armenian Diocese in Georgia hosted an event devoted to mothers, the mother language, the first teacher of the Armenian people, Mesrop Mashtots, and the homeland, with the participation of “Saint Gregory of Narek” Sunday school students. The event was held under the title “My mother is an image of my homeland” in response to the essay contest under the same motto announced by the RA Ministry of Diaspora.

The event started by the Lord’s Prayer and by blessing from the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan.

Eugenia Markosyan, Director of the Educational department of the Diocese, gave opening remarks and briefed the attendees on the activities of the Sunday School, the successes the students have achieved and the teacher’s devoted service. The event was initiated by Tamara Gaboyan, Armenian language teacher of the “Saint Gregory of Narek” Sunday School, together with “Nerses Shnorhali” youth choir (Choirmaster, Maria Abulyan, Piano accompanist – Karen Mirzoyan).

The literary and musical concert was dedicated to the Feast of Annunciation and honored mothers; it was also a reference in Armenian language to the creation of the Armenian Alphabet and the history of the Armenian nation. On the occasion of the Motherhood and Beauty Day, the Sunday school students extended affectionate words to mothers, whose boundless love is indispensable to all children, while children’s love and respect for mothers is essential.

The remarks of the Mistresses of Ceremonies Alla Avetisyan and Ella Simonyan, the recitation of poetry by the students were not only emotional, but in pure, meaningful and accurate Armenian language. The event took the audience along the paths of Armenian literature to mother tongue immortality, the creation of the Armenian alphabet, spreading a strong message to preserve the mother language and the homeland.

Honoring the memory of Mesrop Mashtots, Father of Poetry, the teenagers through poetry recitations presented the historical episodes of Armenian struggles, the formation of the Armenian yerkatagir alphabet as one of the key components of preserving Armenian identity, and the place of Armenian in the Indo-European language family. The heartfelt and moving recitations by the school students blended harmoniously with the songs devoted to the Armenian language, the Armenian alphabet, the Armenian nation and the Homeland performed by the choir.

Susana Khachaturyan, the Director of Press and Media Department at the Armenian Diocese in Georgia; Roza Zohrabyan, the teacher of “St. Yeghia” Sunday school; and Levon Chidilyan, the Head of the Hayartun Center; thanked teacher Tamara Gaboyan and the organizers for the patriotic and warm event, they called upon parents to send their children to an Armenian school, to give them an Armenian upbringing, bring them closer to our precious language, history and traditions. Thus they will facilitate children’s learning, and create a type of Armenian, who has preserved one’s true national identity.

In his closing remarks, the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan highly appreciated the fact that the teenagers are going back to their roots and nation, urged them everywhere to stay faithful to the Armenian language and Christian faith. The Primate exhorted the parents not to break their children away from mother language, nation and traditions, to send them to an Armenian school, not to deprive them of their mother tongue, but to raise a patriotic generation.

At the end of the event, Eugenia Markosyan, Director of the Educational department of the Diocese, announced that the St. Gregory of Narek Sunday School student, Nina Seropova, was awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation signed by the RA Minister of Diaspora for participating in “My Sweet Language” essay contest of the RA Ministry of Diaspora.