A MEMORIAL TABLET OPENED IN ODESSA IN MEMORY OF THE FIRST ARMENIAN CHURCH
By Vigen Margaryan
YerevanReport.com
Nov 29 2010
Armenia
YEREVAN, November 29 – The author of the idea of commemorating the
first Armenian church of St. Gregory the Illuminator is an expert
IMAC Analitika.at.ua, the head of the Armenian historical club,
David Davtyan, who also wrote a historical essay devoted to the church.
The first St. Gregory the Illuminator church was erected in 1844 in
the intersection of Catherine (69) and Bazarnaya streets. The church
was not closed by the Soviet Government and continued to operate even
during World War II.
However, half of the building was destroyed with a firebomb in 1944
and the ruins of the church remained at the center of Odessa until
1951. Now a five-story building rises in the place of the Armenian
church.
By the 15th anniversary of the consecration of the new Armenian Church
of St. Gregory the Illuminator, with the blessing of the abbot of the
Armenian Church of Odessa archimandrite Levon, as well as with the
efforts of David Davtyan, permission was obtained from the authorities
for the establishment of the memorial tablet.
The project of the memorial tablet was designed by Edgar Sahakyan,Armen
Hovakimyan worked out the sculptural representation.
This kind of work would be impossible to accomplish without the
support of philanthropist Eduard Khachatryan.
From: A. Papazian