Sofi Khachmanyan to Present New Book Exploring the Ceremonial Vestments of the Armenian Pontiff

GLENDALE, CA – Art Historian and Designer Sofi Khachmanyan will present her newly released book written in Eastern Armenian titled, The Iconography of Catholicos’ Vestments in the Armenian Medieval Miniature Painting on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at 7:00pm at The Center for Armenians Arts – 250 N. Orange St. in Glendale, California. Author will be introduced by Maggie Mangassarian Goschin. Admission is free. Program will be in Armenian.  For more information, call (818) 243-4112. 90 minutes free parking is available in structure.

The book is dedicated to the exploration of historical origins and development of ceremonial vestments for the pontiff of the Armenian Apostolic Church-the Catholicos. It explores the dressing ritual, protocol and the symbolism of it. In medieval manuscripts created in Armenia prior or in main book-making centers of the Armenian diaspora, there are portraits of famous Catholicoi depicted wearing ceremonial garments. Those portraits are the base for investigating Catholicos’ vestments of the XIII-XVIII centuries, uncovering their symbolism and discussing several artistic and iconographic issues of those illustrations. This book is aimed to specialists dealing with issues of the Armenian Church culture, religious scholars, historians, ethnographers, culturalists, philologists, and the general reading public.

Sofi Khachmanyan was born in Yerevan. After graduating from school, she studied at the Art College No. 8 in Yerevan and attained the title of Master of Needlework Arts. Since 1988, Sofi has lived in the United States. She received her professional education in fashion design and textile science from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 1993 (AA degree), and received her bachelor’s degree in 2006 and master’s degrees in 2008 from Cal State LA. In 2014, she became a candidate at the Institute of Arts, National Academy of Science of the Republic of Armenia. In 2019, she defended her dissertation at the same institute on the topic, “The Symbolism of Catholicos’ Vestments and its Iconography in Medieval Miniature Painting”, which became the basis of her first book.

For over two decades, Sofi has taught courses in fashion design, garment construction, textile science, and history of fashion at various higher education institutions in Los Angeles. In addition to teaching, she researches and curates two historical collections in Los Angeles belonging to the Telfeyan families, who were wealthy merchants from Caesarea. Sofi also collaborates with the Ararat Museum in Mission Hills through scientific consulting and practical work, directs the Creative Hands  Art School, and is engaged in lacemaking and ”Nuno” felting.

Presented by Abril Bookstore.