Armenian president visits Mekhitarist Congregation of Venice
President Armen Sarkissian of Armenia and his spouse Nouneh Sarkissian paid a visit to the Mekhitarist Congregation on Saint Lazarus Island of Venice during the weekend.
Sarkissian shared a photo on Instagram, captioning it: “Weekend with the Mekhitarist monks on the Armenian island St. Lazar.”
The Mekhitarists (also spelled Mechitarists) are a congregation of Benedictine monks of the Armenian Catholic Church founded in 1717 by Abbot Mekhitar of Sebaste.
They are best known for their series of scholarly publications of ancient Armenian versions of otherwise lost ancient Greek texts and their research on classical and modern Armenian language.
The congregation was long divided into two branches, with the respective motherhouses being in Venice and Vienna. In July 2000 they united to form one institute.