Third Annual Grace and Paul Shahinian Armenian Christian Art and Culture Lecture

On Thursday, March 27th, The Catholic University of America’s Institute for the Study of Eastern Christianity (ISEC) hosted the third annual lecture of the Grace and Paul Shahinian Armenian Christian Art and Culture Lecture Series. The lecture series, made possible through the generosity of Dean Shahinian, was established to promote engagement with Christian communities with origins in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East regions, particularly Armenia. More than 70 guests were in attendance for the lecture and following reception.

Shahinian named the lecture series in memory of his parents who were proud Armenian-Americans. Dr. Paul and Mrs. Grace Shahinian had deep ties to Armenia—Grace’s parents were survivors of the Armenian genocide and her father was a pastor in the Armenian Church. Grace and Paul raised their son to recognize the importance of connecting with and sharing the fruits of Armenian culture with a wider audience—a personal mission he continues to pursue through his generous philanthropy.

The University was honored to welcome esteemed guests and scholars, including H.E. Lilit Makunts, ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the United States of America, and Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, ecumenical director and diocesan legate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern). The event opened with remarks from Father Stefanos Alexopoulos, director of the Institute for the Study of Eastern Christianity, followed by Archbishop Aykazian and Ambassador Makunts. Makunts expressed her gratitude for the occasion to spotlight Armenia in an intellectual forum, emphasizing the significance of Armenian-Americans to the United States through their entrepreneurial, scholastic, and artistic contributions.

Sergio La Porta, Ph.D., interim dean of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development, senior advisor for strategic planning and initiatives, and professor of Armenian studies at California State University, Fresno, was the keynote speaker. His lecture, entitled “When Things Fall Apart: Disentangling Christian-Muslim Relations in Medieval Armenia,” discussed the Christian-Muslim conflict that occurred during the Byzantine annexation of Armenia in the eleventh century. Throughout the presentation, La Porta wove together two popular stories and two martyrologies from the period to demonstrate the complicated relationship that existed between the two faith communities and the struggle to reach a condition of “rough tolerance.” After the lecture, La Porta explained: “I wanted to flip the script and show that transgressions against boundaries occur both ways. And, as I hope I emphasized, it required acts of social diplomacy from leaders, even if unpopular amongst their people, to broker relations of ‘rough tolerance’ between the two communities.”

Robin Darling-Young, Ph.D., ordinary professor of Church history at The Catholic University of America, commented: “Professor La Porta's presentation about conflict and cooperation among Armenians and their neighbors in eastern Anatolia kept his audience fascinated in its entirety. He showed his audience how medieval documents, carefully read, revealed a world both far from, but strikingly similar to, our own current day conflicts.”

Reflecting on the impact of the lecture series, Shahinian shared: “I am impressed that an idea conceived a few years ago to present accomplished scholars in the field of Armenian art and culture has been implemented and responded to so well by the students, faculty, and staff of Catholic University, as well as other community members. I am grateful to President Kilpatrick, Provost Dominguez, Dean Capizzi, Dean Ferguson, Father Alexopoulos, Dr. Darling-Young, Dr. Blanchard, Father Morozowich, and Associate Vice President Roth for their roles in the programming’s success.”

The University and ISEC are deeply grateful to Dean Shahinian for his generous gift that established this lecture series as an opportunity to share Armenian-Christian culture and advance scholarship in the field. A recording of the lecture can be accessed on the ISEC’s YouTube channel. For more information about the ISEC and future lectures in the series, please visit their webpage.