Lecture by Archbishop Levon Zekiyan at UCLA on Sept. 24

LOS ANGELES — The Richard Hovannisian Chair in Modern Armenian History with the co-sponsorship of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) present “Abbot Mkhit‘ar of Sebastea: A Sacred Genius and an Enduring Challenge for Today”. A lecture by His Eminence, Archbishop Levon Zekiyan on Sunday, September 24, 2017, 1:30-3:00 PM at Royce Hall 314, UCLA.

Mkhit‘ar’s greatness derives from his character and achievements, which are considered worthy of those of Mesrop Mashtots‘. As a follower of the Armenian enlightenment tradition and drawing from Christian and human traditions, Mkhit‘ar accomplished a multifarious, multidimensional, and highly original synthesis. From an innovative concept of national identity to the faith of the Transcendent and the Eternal, from language to arts, from daily life to flights of the intellect, from a devotion to tradition to courageous, even audaciously novel experiments, Mkhit‘ar’s vision, message, and example remain with us today, as a challenge of an urgent nature and as a token of a bright and promising view of the future.

His Eminence, Archbishop Levon Zekiyan (Boghos by his Baptismal name) was the director and chair holder of the Armenian Language and Literature Chair at the University of Venice at Ca’ Foscari (1976-2011) and the executive editor of Bazmavep and Hay Entanik‘. He is the current Armenian Catholic Archeparch of Istanbul and continues to teach the history of the Armenian Church and theology at the Vatican’s Oriental Institute.

In 2016, Pope Francis appointed him as the Papal legate for the Mkhitarist Congregation of Venice. For many years he was a member of the AIEA (Association internationale des études arméniennes). He has over fourteen monographs on Armenological, theological, and philosophical topics, twenty-five edited volumes, and over two hundred published essays.