The Gulbenkian Foundation, one of the world's leading philanthropic
organizations, has provided the "Armenian Jerusalem" heritage
preservation website project with a new grant, enabling organizers to
carry out necessary hardware upgrades and software updates.
The
grant
reaffirms
the
Foundation's
keen
interest
in
the
project
and
cements
its
support
for
what
is
hoped
will
help
preserve
the
history,
culture
and
traditions
of
the
Armenians of Jerusalem, rescuing their saga from oblivion.
The
project,
launched
in
2007,
is
the
brainchild
of
Arthur
Hagopian,
former
Press
Officer
of
the
Armenian
Patriarchate
of
Jerusalem,
and
involves
the
creation
of
a
website
that
will
host
a
compendium
of
archival
material
chronicling
the
story
of
a
community
that has its roots in the city even before the advent of the Christian era.
The
website
was
originally
located
at
http://www.kaghakatzi.org,
but
has
now
moved
to
a
permanent
address
at
http://armenian-jerusalem.org.
One
of
its
primary
objectives
was
the
creation
of
an
all-in-one
family
tree
that
highlights
the
inter-relationship
and
inter-connectivity
of
the
"kaghakatsi"
residents
of
the
Armenian
Quarter
of
the
Old
City
of
Jerusalem.
The
"kaghakatsi"
are
a
unique
genealogical
entity:
every
member
of
the
sprawling
clan
is
related
either
closely
or
distantly,
to
another.
As
distinguished
from
the
"vanketsi"
survivors
of
the
Armenian
genocide
who
found
refuge
in
the
Patriarchate's
convent
of
St
James,
the
"kaghakatsi"
are
natives
who
first
settled
in
Jerusalem
about
2,000
years
ago,
their
ancestors
arriving
in
the
region
in
the
wake
of
the
conquering
armies
of
emperor
Tigranes II, "arkayitz arka," (king of kings).
The
Armenian
Patriarchate
of
Jerusalem
has
given
its
blessing
to
the
project,
granting
it
access
to
genealogical
archives
dating
back
over
a
century
and
a
half.
And
in
their
turn,
expatriate
"kaghakatsi"
have
been
providing
the
project
with
detailed
genealogical
information helping it create and populate the all-in-one family tree.
This
is
the
second
time
the
august
Gulbenkian
Foundation
has
bankrolled
the
project.
Eight
years
ago,
the
Foundation,
which
is
based
in
Lisbon,
Portugal,
pitched
in
with
funds
to
purchase
a
desktop
PC
package
and
various
web
design
and
graphics
software
packages,
but
with
the
exponential
leap
in
IT,
upgrades
and
updates
have
become
mandatory.
Necessarily,
the
staple
workhorse,
FrontPage
has
had
to
bow
out
making
way
for
Expression
Web
and
Dreamweaver,
and
Windows
XP
has
graduated
into
Windows
8.1
(and, within days, Windows 10).
The
Foundation,
a
legacy
of
philanthropist
Calouste
Gulbenkian
(Mr
Five
Percent),
was
established
in
1956
entrusted
with
a
mandate
for
"the
whole
of
humanity",
its
"original
purpose
focused
on
fostering
knowledge
and
raising
the
quality
of
life
of
persons
throughout the fields of the arts, charity, science and education."
Jerusalem
occupies
a
perpetually
beloved
niche
in
the
core
of
the
Foundation,
the
factor
behind
its
interest
in
the
"Armenian
Jerusalem"
heritage
preservation
website
project.
The
Foundation
is
a
principal
donor
of
the
Armenian
Patriarchate
whose
St
James
convent
houses
two
edifices
whose
construction
it
funded
some
90
years
ago:
the
Gulbenkian library and the Holy Translators' (Tarkmanchatz) high school.
In
announcing
the
new
grant,
Razmik
Panossian,
director
of
the
Foundation's
Armenian
Communities
Department,
noted
it
"supports
projects
that
can
have
a
positive
impact
on
Armenian
communities
around
the
world,
taking
into
consideration
current
realities
and
needs."
The
Department
works
to
create
a
viable
future
for
the
Armenian
people
in
which
its
culture
and
language
are
preserved
and
valued,
and
"we
hope
that
by
supporting
initiatives
like
the
'Armenian
Jerusalem'
website
project
we
can
contribute
to
the preservation
of
the
rich
Armenian
cultural
and
historical
heritage
in
the
Holy
City,"
he
stated
Organizing
the
website
has
entailed
a
diverse
range
of
research
efforts,
some
resulting
in
unknown
and
intriguing
tidbits
about
one
of
the
world's
most
vibrant
communities,
whose
creativity
and
enterprising
spirit
has
helped
place
the
city
firmly
in
the centre of the world map.
It
was
the
Armenians
who
gave
Jerusalem
its
first
printing
press
and
its
first
photographic
studio
-
among
other
firsts.
Their
mellifluously
decorated
ceramic
tiles
adorn
the
walls
of
some
of
the
world's
most
magnificent
edifices,
among
them,
the
Dome
of the Rock.
And it is the Armenians who continue to give Jerusalem its hue and sheen of gold.
Mr Five Percent