Through the professional work of its staff, the Department of Archival Studies at Matenadaran diligently prepares scholarly descriptions and inventories of the Catholicosal Chancery, as well as unprocessed personal funds and collections, in accordance with advanced academic principles. The department’s primary mission is to systematically catalogue the Matenadaran’s archival holdings. The process of description represents the final and definitive stage, following classification by genre, chronological arrangement, registration, processing, numbering, and encapsulation of materials. In addition to producing collection descriptions, department personnel engage in scholarly research, publish articles and monographs, pursue individual research initiatives, and prepare doctoral dissertations.
In 2022, utilising the administrative registers of the Armenian Diocese of Adana preserved in the Matenadaran archive, the Department of Archival Studies published in Antelias the primary source “Proceedings of the Executive Council of the Diocese of Adana (starting 2 March 1905, ending 10 April 1915).” This publication was co-authored and edited by department head A. Malkhasyan, with the participation of A. Astoyan, A. Avetisyan, S. Fahradyan, and L. D. Davtyan. These proceedings serve as exceptional documentary evidence reflecting the national life of the Armenian population under the leadership of the Diocese of Adana and attest to the level of democratic governance among the Armenians of Adana.
In 2023, the department published, at the Mother See, Volume I of the “Catalogue of the Catholicos archives of the Mashtots Matenadaran,” co-authored and edited by department head A. Malkhasyan, with the participation of N. Martirosyan, A. Asatryan, and L. Stepanyan. This volume includes descriptions of 413 documents contained in folders 1 through 7, compiled in accordance with a standardised questionnaire of 38 specific points. Work on Volume II has been completed and is ready for publication, and preparations are underway for describing Armenian- and Russian-language documents to be included in Volume III.
Among the personal funds now processed according to new academic principles and accessible to researchers are those of Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Hakob Manandyan, Norair Biuzandatsi, Samson Lalafaryan, Leo, Zaruhi Pahri, Levon Khachikyan, Stepanos Malkhasyants, Ashot Abrahamyan, Goharik Ghazarosyan, Hripsime Tayiryan, Shavarsh Smbatyan, and Karapet Melik-Ohanjanian. Additionally, the archiving efforts include the press section of Arshak Alpoiadjian’s fonds, comprising 4,597 press clippings and periodicals arranged thematically. These personal funds are being systematically processed by department staff members A. Boyajyan, A. Astoyan, S. Fahradyan, M. Qashishyan, G. Avagyan, T. Shahbatyan, M. Martirosyan, and V. Abgaryan. As a result of the diligent efforts of the department staff, new sources and information are continually being uncovered and presented to the scholarly community, thereby enriching the body of academic research and facilitating the advancement of documentary studies.
Head of the department: Armen Malkhasyan
Ph.D. in History
Phone: +374 10 513020, extension: 1-48